


Temptation

by Dirty_Pretty88



Series: Temptation Verse [1]
Category: the GazettE
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Multi, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-07-29 04:10:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 62,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16256387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dirty_Pretty88/pseuds/Dirty_Pretty88
Summary: Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.





	1. Affair I

**Author's Note:**

> Another chaptered fic I decided that I was going to begin posting. I think this had been one of my works that readers had enjoyed immensely (At least I think it is. I could be wrong lOl)
> 
> Anyways, over my hiatus time, I had been doing somewhat of a rewrite. It’s still currently in the process but, all in all, the originally story without a plot still remains the same LMAO if that makes sense. That was how this had started out. A story without a plot and just created itself as I went.
> 
> So, I hope everyone enjoys.

The city of Los Angeles was far different than what he was used to in Japan; but, it was extremely beautiful, in its own way. The sea was a magnificent sight from the balcony on the fifth story of a very expensive, extravagant apartment complex; courtesy of his new job. The sun set casted amazing colors of: yellows, oranges, pinks and purples.

The beach was in plain sight and he could still see people down there playing in the sand, couples walking along the beach. Leaning against the railing of the balcony, he released a heavy sigh; not even a full week and he already missed his home in Japan. He missed his friends. He wanted to miss the boyfriend who was now broken up with him. The now ex-boyfriend who hates him for jumping at the first chance to accept his dream job the moment the offer came.

Thoughts about the boyfriend he was having gave him mixed feelings. There was a lot about that chapter of his life that he wanted to forget, that he regretted and then again, there was a lot he hadn’t wanted to forget. There were a lot of dreams that never came to fruition in that chapter of his life that he had really wanted to happen.

Speaking of his dreams, Ruki needed to go to bed. He had an early morning with his new job as an up and coming creative director. Pushing off the rail, he went back inside his new home, the white walls still bare as he gazed around; he figured he’d go shopping for trinkets and whatnot to make it more like home.

Quickly cleaning himself up, he got comfortable in bed and just before he switched the bedside lamp off; his cell rang. Frowning, he leaned over and picked it up. Smiling as he saw the caller I.D. he swiped his thumb over the touch screen.

“What is it, Kai?” he chuckled, leaning against the headboard. “Do you realize what time it is here? I was just getting settled into bed.”

“No, I don’t know what time it is, Ruki,” the man laughed. “All I know is, that its yesterday there.”

Smiling at his friend’s humor, the brunette gave a shake of his head, “What is it? I’ve got an early morning and I need all the sleep I can get.”

“I know you do,” the other spoke with a smile, huffing softly, “I’m just calling to tell you good luck; you’ll knock ‘em dead with your ideas. Don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise, okay?”

“I won’t,” he confirmed softly, trying to sound as confident as possible.

“Good,” Kai laughed, “I’ll call you probably a little earlier than I just did, so I can know how things went.”

“Alright mother,” Ruki drawled with a smile; saying a quick goodbye to his friend and hanging up. He plugged his phone in to be charged, settled back into his mattress and fell asleep immediately.

When he had awoken in the morning, having gotten seven hours of sleep, Ruki quickly got up, took a shower and dressed. He made sure to make himself look the part of a creative director; fixing his hair up and even doing some makeup. Grabbing his keys and his cell phone; he gave his entire apartment one look over. Turning to go out the door, he stopped, realizing he had forgotten the address to the building despite having gone to the large building. Cursing to himself, he went down the hallway to his bedroom, shuffled through his belongings, finding the document. Tucking it beneath his arm, he quickly left; seeing it was a quarter until seven.

Getting to the lobby of the apartment and out onto the street, Ruki waved down a taxi cab. Quickly getting in and giving the address, Ruki watched the city go by in a blur, finding the traffic horrible. Seeming like it took hours to get to his new job, he paid the driver and got out; shifting the item in his hold.

The creative director’s nerves were beginning to dance on the edge as he walked into the building, going straight to the front desk; he smiled at the woman, “Excuse me miss, what floor is the magazine editorial department on?”

Before the woman could answer, an Asian man with blonde and chunks of black hair stepped up beside him; smiling, “You don’t look familiar.”

Taking a step back to look the man over, Ruki noted he was extremely attractive; but, he didn’t look the part of someone who worked in the building. Nodding his head, he smiled, “I’m the new Creative Director for the magazine.”

“Ah, **_you_** are Takanori Matsumoto,” the man kept his smile, holding his hand out in a friendly gesture; adding with a slight smirk, “The new boss.”

Brows shooting up, it only took a second for the man to realize what he had meant, “I’m to assume you work in that department?”

“I’m one of the photographer, Reita.” He introduced himself politely. Taking a step back, he held his arm out towards the elevators, “I’m on my way up now, I’ll show you to your new office, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“Ruki, please,” he kept the friendly smile. Being led to the elevator, he gazed up to the man, questioning, “So, you are the photographer of the magazine?”

“I am, that means we’ll be working on a lot of projects together,” Reita winked, motioning the man onto the elevator before him. Pressing the button for the twelfth floor, he took a step back and looked up as the lift went into motion, “the staff are very good people; there isn’t anybody in the department you’ll after to worry about. Well, maybe one. I hear the big CEO boss is an asshole and a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.”

Frowning, he asked, extremely intrigued by this person; “Anything else I should know about the big boss guy?”

“He’s good looking, rich, heard he’s quite the playboy,” Reita spoke an underlying tone in his voice.

Blushing, Ruki bit his lip; he had a weakness for attractive men. Gazing at his manicured nails, he wondered about this man, the boss, everyone’s boss; **_his_** boss. Groaning inwardly, he shook his head to rid of the thoughts. How could he possibly be thinking about having or even fantasizing about a relationship with the CEO, a man he knew absolutely nothing about; except the words of a man he had just barely met.

“Are you alright,” Reita questioned softly.

Nodding quickly, Ruki smiled, “Yes, I just need some coffee. I don’t function so well without caffeine.”

“Neither do I,” the blonde joked along.

The ringing of the elevator signaled they had come to their destined floor; Ruki was the first off so as to get a quick look around while the photographer stepped off as well. With a slight jerk of his head, the blonde photographer led the way down the hall, greeting several people passing them by. The pair came upon a set of glass doors that led into a very large office space with several desks and a few more offices.

“Here we are,” Reita beamed, holding the door open for the brunette. Giving curt nods to several of the staff members, he walked the new director to a corner office, “and this, will be your office.”

Refraining from letting his jaw drop, Ruki gazed around the large open space; he turned back at the blonde, “are you serious; this is my office?”

“It is,” the man smiled, the door closing behind him, as he walked further into the office and towards the large bay windows. He opened the shades wider, “This office has a wonderful view of downtown Los Angeles. But, if I had to be honest, this probably would be the second most amazing view here.”

Having set his bag down and going through it, Ruki chuckled, “What’s the first most amazing view?” Not getting a reply, he looked up, finding the man gazing at him; rolling his eyes with a scoff, “How many have you used that on?”

Smirking as he walked up to the desk, sitting on the corner, Reita tilted his head, “none who have called me out on it.”

Sitting in the chair, the brunette leaned back, “So, when will I get to meet the big boss and where I should start?”

“Right now are just formalities. We’d just like to get you settled in. Hold on a second, I’ll go and get your assistant,” the blonde stood up and left the office. Walking in several minutes later, with a red head following after him, “this is Miss Jessica Ackles; she is your assistant and she will be helping you get the hang of the place.”

“Hello Miss Ackles,” he greeted the woman, getting up and shaking her hand. Seeing Reita out of the corner of his turning to leave, he called him, “Wait a minute, Reita. Shouldn’t I get your number; you know, in case there was ever something we needed to discuss about a project?”

“Your assistant has it,” he replied simply; leaving.

“I’ve never seen him take a liking to a new staff member,” the woman commented, she turned to Ruki with a knowing smile, “He likes you.”

Coughing to cover up his oncoming blush, he motioned for the woman to take a seat while she talked him through of what they had expected him. Jessica taking him around the department, introducing him to other staff members, who he immediately warmed up to; and other departments they work with. Returning to his office, he found Reita in his office, only this time, he had nicely pressed black pants and a white button up dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows. He seemed to be gazing at documents.

Clearing his throat, Ruki walked in, “Reita, what can I do you for?”

Smiling brightly, the man stood with the papers, holding them out, “our first project together, I figure we’d go ahead and get a jump start on it. Brainstorm a bit.”

“Of course,” the brunette gave a nod, taking the papers, sitting as he looked it over. Setting it down, he commented exasperated, “wow, so much for letting me settle in. They didn’t want to waste any time to break me in, did they?”

“They believe you can do it though,” Reita commented softly, leaning back in his seat. “What do you think?”

“Well, there a few ways we can do this one,” Ruki began determinedly, flipping through them once more, “but, I’m sure they’d want something that hasn’t been done before; but, the question is if you can do it?”

Smirking, the blonde straightened up, “I can do anything and I’m appalled you have to ask.”

“Just got to make sure,” he returned the smirk.

Both getting to work, the blonde photographer took notes as they went through their brainstorming session, Ruki finding the man’s manner very keen on his job; never missing a beat as they talked. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing as they spoke, having the same general idea. So, when they had finished, he found himself slightly disappointed that Reita had to leave. But, he was glad the morning was over and it was lunch time. All in all, he felt pretty accomplished for his first day.

Grabbing his bag and cell phone to leave for some lunch, Ruki was walking down the hall when he passed by a door that was ajar. Somewhat of a gut feeling pulled him towards the entrance and upon peeking in he found the blonde photographer. Taking a step back, he looked for a name slate saying it was the man’s office but it had someone else’s name. Cocking a brow, he shrugged and went to knock when the blonde’s cell on the desk rang and he picked up.

“Akira Suzuki,” the man answered proficiently.

Blinking, Ruki knew that name sounded extremely familiar. But, he more annoyed with the fact the man hadn’t shared his real name, that he didn’t really dwell on why it had sounded familiar. Instead, he had bristled in annoyance, turning to walk off; he had halted at the sound of his name being spoken.

“Yes, Takanori Matsumoto is our new Creative Director for the magazine,” Reita spoke with a smile, his back now turned to the door. Catching the device between his neck and shoulder, “Yes, he is very exceptional. I’ve spoken with him about the project we had originally wanted for Matthews; I find that he is much better suited for it.”

Hearing him pause, whoever on the line speaking to him, Ruki got closer to the door, when the man sighed agitatedly, “No, I would really prefer that Matsumoto stay on it. I know that Matthews has worked for us much longer, Mr. Johnson; but what I am saying is, after having a very in depth conversation about this project, **_I_** want him to handle this project.”

Quickly taking a step back, finding that it was rude of him to be listening in on the one sided phone call, Ruki made a quick exit for the elevator, stopping momentarily to look at the different floors. Finding one for café’s and small diners up on the lowers floors; he reached out to push the button.

“Hey, Ruki, are you going for lunch?”

Flinching, he looked over to find Reita walking towards him; smiling brightly. Swallowing, he nodded nervously, “Yeah, I was just-”

“Let me take you to lunch instead,” the man stepped up beside him, placing a hand on the small of Ruki’s back. Leaning over to push the button going down, Reita winked, “I’ve got something I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh, and what is that,” Ruk feigned innocence; the hand on his back pressing just oh so slightly. Stepping away from the hand, he smiled, “What could be so important that you’d like to take me to lunch to talk about it?”

The dinging of the elevator and the doors opening, the blonde nudged Ruki on it, pressing the button for the garage. Reita leaned back against the wall, “So, would you like Italian, sushi or-”

“Italian would be fine,” the brunette answered softly, tightening his hold on his bag.

Head tilting in concern, Reita pushed off the wall, “You alright?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” he answered, shrugging. Deciding to brush off what he heard just moments ago, he gave a genuine laugh, “I’m just starving. I had missed breakfast this morning, because you know, it being the first day and all, I didn’t want to chance on being late.”

“Understandable,” the photographer nodded.

The lift coming to its destination, they got off and Reita showed him the way to his car. Ruki following almost as he was afraid, expression lighting up in awe and delight as the blonde strolled up to a black cherry red mustang. He took in the sleek body, very well kept. The top was down, had very sleek black leather upholstery.

“Beauty ain’t it,” Reita smiled, opening the passenger door for the other male.

“Beauty?” he laughed, sliding in; running his hands along the leather. “It’s freaking gorgeous.”

The man walked around the car, getting into the driver’s seat, starting it; engine roaring to life. The feel of the motor making Ruki feel giddy; never had he dreamed of riding in such an amazing car. He just couldn’t tear his gaze away from the beauty of the vehicle, completely captivated by it; especially by the way it drove.

Sitting in silence until they got to the restaurant, Reita got out and went around the car to open the passenger door for Ruki; the valet taking the keys from the blonde. The photographer ushered the brunette into the exquisite restaurant and up to the host, whose smile brighten immensely upon seeing the blonde.

“Mr. Suzuki, we were not expecting you, I’ll get a table for you right away,” the man motioned with his hand to the dining area. Getting a wave from a nearby waiter, the man led them to a table that was a private area of the restaurant, “Would you like wine, a cocktail-”

“I’d like an American Light.” Turning to the brunette as he quickly pulled out the chair, Reita winked at the shorter who sat down shyly, “What would you like, Ruki?”

Making a soft sound of surprise, he looked between the host and the blonde. Without a thought, he blurted the first drink that came to mind, “an ice tea, please.”

“I’ll get that right away,” the man bowed before turning.

“So, what was it that you need to speak to me about?” Ruki began conversationally, sipping at the glass of water on the table. Setting it down, he looked up to find the man staring intently at him, the gaze making him feel hot under the collar. He coughed, “So?”

The man gave a short chuckle, as he leaned back in his seat, “Okay, I’ll be truthful. I lied to you.”

Brow raising, the brunette leaned forward in interest, “now why would you go and do that?”

Shrugging coolly, Reita thanked the waiter as their drinks arrived. Taking a quick sip of his drink, he stated in a matter of fact tone, “Because, I got the feeling if I had asked you to lunch on a more personal note, you more than likely would have shot me down in a blazing rain of bullets; so, I spoke a little bit of a white lie.”

“You’re right,” Ruki laughed, taking his ice tea and drinking it; “I would have shot you down and have every right to just leave right now. Considering, you’ve lied to me three times in one day.”

“Three?” the man asked.

“Your real name,” he held up his finger; putting up a second, “reason for taking me to lunch and I get the feeling you lied to me about your real profession.”

Humming softly, lips slowly pulling into an amused grin; lacing his fingers together and nestling his chin atop of them, Reita lowered his voice, “Why do you have a feeling I’ve lied to you about my profession?”

“First off,” he smiled, leaning back into his seat, “I’ve never known a photographer to dine at such an extravagant restaurant with your kind of salary and be known like a regular. Second, you’re wearing a suit; and third, you are much too confident in yourself to be a photographer.”

“Confidence is key in everything and,” Reita smirked, reaching across and lightly caressing the jaw of Ruki, “and you’ve never met a photographer like me.”

Snorting and pulling away from the touch, Ruki scowled, “I think you should stop while **_I’m_** ahead. I don’t do dates with coworkers.”

“Alright then,” the blonde sat back with a sly smile, “Let us enjoy each other’s company like coworkers.”

“Alright,” Ruki smiled, their waiter coming back to them and taking their orders.

That’s how it had gone the next two months; he and Reita getting closer the more they worked together on projects. Ruki found the man’s photographic eye remarkably appealing when he would go through negatives. And despite his first day on the job, he still went to lunches with the blonde, the same restaurant every day; that was until there was a big meeting, he had been asked to by the Editor-in-Chief to attend. He was nervous.

Looking to the clock every five minutes as the hand slowly ticked on, Ruki tapped the pen in his hand atop the desk anxiously. It was his first real meeting with the bosses and he was extremely nervous, that he felt sick.

There was a knock on his office door and Ruki cleared his throat, “Come in.”

Jessica walked in with a smile, “They’re ready to start the meeting.”

Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood, making sure to grab a few of the folders and a notepad; he smiled weakly at his assistant, “to be absolutely honest, I’m nervous. Meeting all the head of the departments as well as the CEO, I’m so nervous.”

“You’ll be just fine,” she assured, leading him down the hallway to the large conference room.

Nodding his head and trying to be as confidant as he could, he walked in and took a seat beside one of the editors; smiling meekly to the man. Reaching out and taking a glass of water and nearly chugging it.

“Nervous, are we,” the man sitting beside him smiled genuinely. Tilting his head with a question, “You’re the Creative Designer that we had hired a few months back?”

Swallowing, Ruki nodded as he held his hand out, “Yes, I’m Takanori Matsumoto.”

The man smiled, taking the hand with a firm shake, “I’m John Matheson, the Editor-in-Chief; nice to finally meet you.”

“Oh, -uh, Likewise,” he squeaked in surprise, not having anything to say.

Releasing his hold on the hand, he turned to find Reita suddenly strolling in, followed by three other men, all whom seemed to be in a deep discussion. Blonde lifting his eyes to take a quick glance around when their eyes locked and Ruki could see the distinct look of surprise, before he turned away. Ruki’s mouth began to salivate as he stared at the blonde. The man wore a slim three button up navy blue pinstripe suit, a soft baby blue pressed dressed shirt and to finish it off, a multicolored blue tie.

“Gentlemen,” he began, looking around the room to everybody. Those intense brown eyes lingering on Ruki slightly longer, “First and foremost, not everyone has met the magazines new Creative Director; so, I shall introduce him first. This is Takanori Matsumoto,” he motioned for the younger man to stand.

Slowly pushing himself out of his chair, he bowed before taking his seat again, beating the embarrassed blush down. The blonde gave Ruki a reassuring smile, “had I been aware that Mr. Matsumoto was to be attending this meeting, I would have done formalities properly.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Suzuki,” John spoke up, a very coy smile, “I had invited him last minute to this meeting; considering that we’ll be redesigning the look of the magazine.”

“Of course,” the blonde nodded with a slightly un-amused look on his face. Releasing a breath, he straightened and flipped through some of the pages, “Now, if everyone will go to page seven, we’ll begin our meeting there.”

 Ruki and everyone did as they we’re told, flipping to page seven, the brunette quickly reading over the headline and skimming over the paragraphs. The blonde beginning to speak in such a commanding, professional tone had him wondering just who the blonde was. But, what had struck Ruki the most was the man had once again lied to him. The blonde wasn’t a photographer.

Doing his best to keep his annoyance down, he followed along with the meeting, making sure to write notes and to put in his input when the blonde had asked him for it. The meeting going smoothly and quickly; so, when they had finished, it was nearing two o’clock in the afternoon. He had missed breakfast and lunch; he was now absolutely starving. Gathering his belongs up; John came to him with a smile.

“I can see now as to why Mr. Suzuki had spoken so highly of you. You are extremely bright.”

Ruki smiled shyly, “Thank you.”

“Seeing as how our meeting ran later than usual, would you like to join me for lunch,” the elder man asked.

“I actually need to speak with Mr. Matsumoto,” Reita seemed to appear beside the pair, putting a hand on the brunette’s back. “Maybe next time he’ll be able to join you, Mr. Matheson.”

“Yes, next time,” Ruki bowed his head apologetically; catching the frown on the man’s face before he turned and walked away.

Narrowing his eyes, Ruki turned to the blonde, not speaking a word; he waited until everyone left the conference room. Walking over and shutting the door, he faced the other, who was now casually leaning against the table. Arms crossing over his chest, he demanded, “Who are you?”

Smiling, Reita raised a brow, his voice amused, “I’m the CEO, as well as the owner of this publishing company.”

Tensing with anger that his entire body felt like he was shaking, Ruki growled, “You’re such a fucking liar.”

“Well,” the man drawled, still smiling, “I didn’t exactly lie.”

“Well, you didn’t exactly tell me the truth either!” he snapped, trying his best to keep his voice leveled, but, it was hard with how stupid and angry he felt. Turning away from Reita, he growled as he strangled air, “I feel like a fucking idiot! I cannot believe I fell for all the bullshit you fed me! I’m so fucking stupid!”

Chuckling, Reita pushed off the table, going up and turning the brunette to him, pushing hair behind an ear, “You’re not stupid. You are very bright and-”

Stepping away from his boss; everyone’s boss, he shook his head, “Well, you’ve made me feel pretty stupid; now, if you excuse me, **_Mr. Suzuki_** I need to get back to work.”

“Ruki,” he reached out, only to get his hand smacked away.

“It’s Mr. Matsumoto, **_sir_** ,” he snapped, turning and leaving the room.

He was so angry with himself. He had let his guard down and was completely fooled by the blonde.

Getting to his office and slamming his door shut, Ruki plopped in his seat, grasping his hair by the roots and let out a frustrated roar. The man had been playing him the entire time; for two entire months. A man he now felt like had lied to him about everything and was just using him as way to get his rocks off; it aggravated him to no end. He felt so naïve.

There was a sudden knock on his office door, straightening up, Ruki called, “Come in.” Immediately scowled as the blonde walked in, he resisted the urge to throw something at the males head, “Can I help you, **_sir_**?”

“Ruki, please,” he began.

“Mr. Suzuki, it is Mr. Matsumoto; so, is there something I can help you with?”

The blonde growled as he locked the office door, we walked around the desk up to Ruki, putting both hands on the sides of the man. Both glared the other down before the blonde huffed in defeat, “alright, look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel so- stupid, but-”

“What?” he hissed, trying to get away, but, the other wouldn’t let him. Pressing a hand to the chest of the CEO, Ruki gave a slight push, “I’d appreciate if you’d give me space, **_sir_**.”

“Will you stop that already,” Reita sighed exasperated. Reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose, he groaned, “Look, I admit I’m an ass for jerking you around like that; but, could you not let it get in the way?”

“Get in the way of what,” he scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“Us,” was his short reply.

“Oh, for the- there is no ‘us’! It was just friendly work dates! Nothing was going on!” the designer nearly shrieked, he stood from his seat to put space between him and his boss. Ruki shrugged, trying to ease the entire situation. Truth be told, he hadn’t been blind to the heavy flirting by the blonde and he in all fairness had reciprocated the flirtation but that was all it was, “we are just **_coworkers_** , that’s it; nothing more.”

“Oh for the love of-” the man growled, going and yanking Ruki to him kissing the brunette hard and heatedly. Leading him to the couch inside of the office, he shoved the man down, the brunette struggling against him.

“Get off of me,” he tried growling angrily but it came out as a soft heated groan. The hands on his wrist making it hard to shove his boss off him but it didn’t matter as soon as those hot kisses were making a trail along his throat.

Gasping softly as a nip was delivered to his jugular, Ruki’s eyes slid shut. He couldn’t lie to himself about the man atop of him being extremely attractive, that he hadn’t gone home and masturbated while thinking of him. And he couldn’t lie about the fact that he wanted this one moment to happen.

“Go to dinner with me,” Reita groaned, pressing his hips.

Panting heavily, the man swallowed. Giving a weak shake of his head, voice soft, “I-we… I-I can’t.”

“Why not,” he whispered, pressing more kisses to the slender neck of the brunette. Nipping teasingly and gave another press of hips, “why can’t you go to dinner with me?”

“Yo-you’re my boss,” Ruki moaned, the ministrations feeling way too good. His fists clenching tightly as the man grinding his very prominent arousal against him, “I-We can’t.”

“It’s just dinner,” the blonde chuckled, voice dark and husky. Capturing the quivering lips of Ruki in another kiss, he pulled away, “just one dinner, Ruki.”

Arching his back slightly, he knew he should say no but he almost didn’t want to. His will was breaking with the teasing motions of hips and the hot breath along his neck. Keeping his eyes shut tightly, he took a deep breath, shaking his head again and with a stammer of his voice, demanding, “No, this- this is unprofessional. Please, Mr. Suzuki; get off of me.”

“Very well,” Reita breathed, his voice discouraged. Releasing his hold on the slender wrists, he stood and quickly straightened his suit, he bowed, “excuse my behavior, Mr. Matsumoto.”

Hearing the clicking shut, Ruki slowly sat up. Putting a hand to his rapidly beating heart, the excitement still coursing through him; putting his other hand on his forehead, he felt how flushed he was. The feel of the body still on his own, the presses of strong hips making his stomach quiver at the thought of the man inside of him. It made him want to beat himself up for passing up such a moment.

“It was for the best,” he told himself, as he stood shakily. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he left his office; going out to the hallway to find the blonde speaking with another, looking completely unaffected by what took place. Ruki unintentionally caught Reita’s eye, the intense gaze making him freeze slightly before he broke the trance the blonde had on him and ran for the restrooms.

Making it to the restroom, he sprinted for the stall; falling against the cubicle with a groan, “This is going to be hell. What have I gotten myself into?”


	2. Affair II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

It had nearly been a month since the events of discovering Reita as the CEO and the owner of the publishing company; nearly a month and neither one of them could be in the same room together longer than a few minutes. Well, more like the blonde couldn’t be in the same room as Ruki. The monthly meetings the brunette found himself sitting in on more and more, Reita had began to show up less and less; overseeing the meeting through a webcam. It made him feel slightly guilty. But then, Ruki would remember the lies the other had told him or the things the other tried to hide from him.

Ruki had done research on Reita a week later after their falling out, finding he was indeed rich, a bachelor and did freelance photography with his spare time. The man was very well-groomed, coming from a very well established background. Mother a very well known defense lawyer, father a very respectable surgeon.

He was also learning that the blonde was very active in recreational sports in his spare time which ranged from: base jumping, surfing, cycling and rock climbing. The blond was also extremely generous towards nonprofit organizations. Reita was something else entirely.

Rubbing his temples, he pushed the call button, his assistance voice chirping, “ _Yes, Mr. Matsumoto_?”

“Could you please call and have Mr. Meacham come to my office, **_now_** ,” he restrained from snapping.

“ _Of course_ ,” she answered, hanging up.

A new photographer Ruki had to have hired last minute, he did not care for one bit. He was cocky and the way he would take the photos weren’t what he had asked for because they weren’t creative enough; so, he’d spend endless hours at the photo shoot until they finally got what they needed. This was one of those days, the man having ignored everything he had said, what they had talked about. The overpaid jackass went and took what he believed were ‘artistic’ photos.

Leaning back in his seat, the brunette looked out his open door, catching a glimpse of blonde hair at the far end of offices; Ruki stood and made his way around his desk to gaze out over the cubicles. There stood Reita on the other side of the office, chatting with several other people, all of them laughing at whatever he had said. Licking his lips he took notice to the man dressed in a very crisp grey pinstripe suit, silver silk tie and a soft grey shirt.

Tearing his gaze away from the godly image of the CEO, Ruki went to the break room with a sudden need for caffeine. Leaning against the counter with a tired groan, he took a deep meditating breath and slowly exhaled; he reached over for a Styrofoam cup. Pouring the hot liquid into it, he didn’t realize he had been followed in or the soft clicking of the break room door shutting.

Humming as he took a careful sip of the bitter coffee, Ruki turned to return to his office, jumping as he found the new photographer standing there. Hissing as the liquid spilled over onto his hand, he quickly set the cup down and put his burned hand to his lips. Frowning, he sighed, “Jesus, Anthony, you could have said something rather than just standing there.”

“Sorry,” the man shrugged.

Rolling his eyes, he looked at his red hand and then to his own suit, making sure no coffee had gotten on it. Turning, he grabbed his coffee and went to go towards the door but the other stepped in the way of his path. Bristling, Ruki snapped, “What are you doing?”

“Didn’t you want to see me?” he questioned innocently.

“Yes I did,” the brunette sighed, rubbing his temple, “please come to my office.”

The photographer smiled, “can’t we talk here?”

“No, I’d like to speak to you in my office,” Ruki’s voice darkened. He was not in the mood to be messed with and the other was dancing on a fine line, “now, Mr. Meacham, will you please move, so we can go and speak in my office.”

The man didn’t move immediately, he gazed at Ruki in a disturbing way; it made him shudder slightly. Eventually, the man took a step to the side a moment later, letting him get to the door and open it. Both walking back towards his office, he motioned for the photographer to take a seat while he went around the desk to his seat.

Setting the cup down and pulling out a folder from beneath the stack of papers, Ruki sighed angrily, “I need you to be free this Saturday, Anthony. We’ve got to do the photo shoot again.”

“What?” the man gaped.

Holding out the printed pictures, he growled, “These are not what I asked for, Anthony. And because these aren’t what **_I_** wanted, we’ve got to redo the entire photo shoot; so, you **_will_** be free on Saturday, understand.” Sighing, Ruki leaned back, massaging his temples again, his migraine worsening the more he spoke, “I’ve got less than a week to get these photos in and they have to be perfect.”

“Of course,” the man grimaced, leaning forward and taking the pictures; looking them over. He set them back on the desk, sighing, “What time would you like me to show up at the studio; and do you want me to bring the standard lenses or the macro lenses?”

“Be there at ten and bring the macro lenses, please,” he smiled tiredly.

“I’ll be there at ten sharp,” Anthony nodded, standing and leaving the office.

Face palming into his hands, Ruki groaned. He was beyond tired, having worked ten extra hours a week; two extra hours every day. Rarely getting any sleep because he was always thinking of his boss. Letting out a frustrated growl, he slapped himself for thinking of the man again.

“Mr. Matsumoto,” Jessica knocked on the door, smiling.

“Yes, what is it Ms. Ackles?”

“Mr. Suzuki would like to see you in his office.”

Blinking rapidly for a minute, had he heard that right; Reita wanted to see him in his office. He took a deep breath, nodding, “tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Of course,” she answered, leaving the doorway.

Massaging his temples once more, he pushed up out of his seat, grabbing a pen and notepad just in case he had to take some quick notes. He walked out of his office, nodding to his assistant and went to the elevator. Going to the upper floor, he stepped off the elevator, going straight to the CEO’s office.

Arriving outside of the closed office door, he took one last deep breath and knocked on it, hearing a muffled ‘come in’ on the other side. Turning the knob and stepping through the doorway, he nodded his heads toward the man behind the desk on the phone; he took a seat in a chair.

“No,” Reita spoke commandingly, “be sure to have Mr. Matheson take another look at that. I don’t want it printed just yet.” Pausing for a few minutes as the person on the other line spoke to him, he nodded, “Yes, I’ve got Mr. Matsumoto right here and I will speak to him about it. I’ll make sure to go over it with him in detail. Goodbye.”

Swallowing hard as those eyes were turned to him, Ruki shifted nervously in his seat. Having the incredible urge to just bolt out of the office and not look back. Gazing down at the pad in his lap, he smiled, “You needed to see me, Mr. Suzuki?”

“We’re taking you off the project,” he started, looking down at the papers on his desk.

Blinking in confusion, Ruki shook his head in disbelief, “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, the board and I have decided that you are not suited for this project,” Reita continued speaking professionally, writing and signing on the documents in front of him. Never raising his eyes up from his task, “we’ve got something else in mind for you.”

“I don’t understand,” the brunette set the pad off to the side. Licking his lips as those dark fawn eyes were suddenly on him, he did his best to keep his voice leveled, “I mean, this project wasn’t due for another month; if I hadn’t done anything wrong, why take me off of it? Who did you put in charge of it?”

“I put Robert on the project,” Reita cocked a brow as he leaned back in his seat. Eyeing the body of the brunette, he sighed, “we took you off because we want you to do something else for us and we know it’s not in your job description but we’d like you to head up on planning a very important Gala. This event will have very influential-”

The brunette couldn’t keep himself from fuming in absolute agitation and he snapped, “You’re right, that **_isn’t_** in my job description. I didn’t sign up to be a party planner for you, Mr. Suzuki. My job is to design for the magazine, not to blow up balloons and throw confetti.”

Laughing out at the outburst, the blonde covered his mouth, “Well, that’s good for you, because, this doesn’t involve blowing up balloons and throwing confetti.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Suzuki,” Ruki growled. Fists clenching tightly, he took a deep breath, “You’re going to have to find someone else for the job. I **_do not_** do party planning. I did not put in hours of studying to do something so redundant.”

Humming, Reita nodded with a look in his eye, “very well then.”

“I would like to have **_my_** project back,” he informed his boss, going and grabbing the notepad.

“On one condition,” the blonde smirked behind his hand.

Ruki didn’t like the look the other had, it made him nervous but, excited at the same time. The look of pure power on the man’s face was turning him on slightly. “And what would that be, Mr. Suzuki?”

“You’ll be my date for this Gala of ours,” the business man spoke sensually.

Swallowing, he walked up to the desk of the blonde’s, put his hands atop and leaned forward, almost scowling; “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

“Not if you want this project back,” Reita continued smirking.

Biting his bottom lip, Ruki thought about it hard; because this was the biggest project of the year and it meant a lot to him. Having become so lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed that the other had stood and was now copying is actions in leaning over the desk. Not until a finger was placed beneath his chin and his face was lifted, Reita’s thumb reaching up and tugging the bottom lip from between his teeth.

Leaning forward, Reita’s voice was heavy and husky, “You have no idea what that does to me.”

Shuddering due to the deep sensual voice of the blonde, Ruki unconsciously leaned in. That hand now trailing long lithe fingers along his throat, he released a shaky breath he had unintentionally been holding. Reita promptly stepped around his desk to pin the shorter up against the edge of furniture and his own body, firmly keeping the other against his own body. The brunette gave another shuddering breath as lips were ghosted along his throat. He clenched the edge of the desk tightly, strong hands trailing along his sides, as the man forced his thighs apart so he could step between them.

“You smell so good,” the blonde growled, nipping at the fair neck; forcing short gasps from the brunette. His hands gliding along the thighs, he smirked against the soft peach flesh, voice soft; “you want me.”

“No,” Ruki gasped.

Chuckling lustfully, Reita lifted a leg up by a knee, bringing it to his waist, grinding himself against the ass of Ruki. Groaning, he hissed into an ear, “lie to me all you want, Ruki; I can see right through you.”

Mewling softly, head falling back, Ruki moved leisurely against the thrusts. The feel of the man making him lose his mind, he whimpered in a soft stutter, “O-okay, I-I’ll be y-your date.”

“Atta boy,” the business man mocked, immediately stopping his ministrations. Lifting the head, he pecked the trembling lips, “You can have you project back. I’ll pick you up seven sharp Friday night; be sure to dress to impress.”

Nodding, he panted heavily through the fog, “s-seven.”

Taking a step back, Reita straightened Ruki’s suit jacket with a smirk, “Good. You can go and let Robert know I’ve given the project back to you.”

“O-okay,” he stuttered still unable to find his voice, taking his notepad and leaving the office quickly.

Briskly walking down the hallway to the elevator, he pushed the button harshly. Stepping onto the lift hurriedly, he took steady breaths. His arousal still coming at him full force, urging him to go back to Reita’s office but he resisted. Getting back to his own floor, he went the opposite direction of his office.

Knocking on the open door, he smiled at the man behind the desk; getting motioned to enter, he leaned against the chair, “hey, Robert. I know Mr. Suzuki had given you the project I had been working on but, he had changed his mind about the switch and had given it back to me; I hope you don’t mind.”

The man frowned with utter confusion, “I wasn’t aware that he had switched your project over to me.”

Ruki felt his face flush, “You didn’t?”

“No,” he shook his head with a chuckle, setting his pen down, “this is actually the first I’m hearing of this. But, I guess since you got it back, I shouldn’t worry about it.”

Nearly gaping at the situation, Ruki felt a wave of anger wash through him; he had been played by the blonde **_again_**. Snapping out of his thought, he forced a smile at the man, “Yeah, he may have been too busy to let you know of it; but you’re right, since I got it back… don’t worry about it.”

“Alright then,” the man laughed quietly, getting back to his work.

Ruki left the office, feeling completely embarrassed. Getting back to his own office, he went to the couch, grabbed a throw pillow off if it, buried his face into it and let out a frustrated scream; the pillow muffling his anger. Throwing it back down against the couch once he was done, he stalked around his desk and got to work immediately; clearing his mind of what had just happened and how foolish he felt.

The sun was setting over the ocean horizon and Ruki was beyond exhausted.  He had put in three extra hours of his job. So, sitting back in his seat, he realized he was ready to call it a day. He had the rest of the week to finish his work, it only being Tuesday.

Standing, he began to organize all the papers orderly and filing them in their proper spots. Quick in locking the filing cabinet, he turned and gathered all his personal belongings; putting it all inside his bag. Looking over his desk, he turned off the lamp and locked his office.

Walking along the small cubicles of personal offices, he was passing by a large conference room, finding the lights still on. Not knowing he hadn’t been the only one working late, Ruki felt obligated to let the other person to know he had been working late as well and was now leaving. He shifted his bag onto his shoulder, knocking on the door, he peeked his head in; face flushing at who he found.

The person looked over their shoulder, a smile appearing on their lips; “Ruki, I wasn’t aware that anyone else was working late.”

“Neither was I, Mr. Suzuki,” he snapped out of his stupor. The man had changed from his business attire and now was dressed in torn jeans, a black tank top and a grey flannel shirt; he was leaning against the table, the fax machine going.

“Yeah, the one up on my floor is wigging out again,” he laughed, going back to gazing at the machine.

“I see,” Ruki hummed, his eyes going over the form of his boss. Licking his lips, he exhaled a hot breath, “well, I’ll see you tomorrow than. Have a goodnight, Mr. Suzuki.”

“Wait,” the blonde pushed off the table, turning his body fully towards the brunette. A slow smirk appearing, “did you speak to Robert about the project?”

Blinking, his mind having become jumbled and fuzzy, Ruki nodded; it all coming back to him, he narrowed his eyes, “You lied to me.”

“Yes, I suppose I did,” he chuckled.

“You’re an ass,” Ruki hissed.

“So I’ve been told,” Reita countered in amusement.

Sighing heavily, the creative designer stepped further into the conference room, setting his bag atop the table, he questioned exasperated; “Why are you messing with me?”

“Who says I’m messing with you,” the man pointed out, slowly making his way around the table; hand lightly dragging atop. Stopping he cocked his head, “Couldn’t it be I’m just attracted to you?”

“Even if that’s true, I don’t do rel-”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Reita cut off with a roll of his eyes, sitting on the edge of the table, “You keep reminding me about your thing with dating; but, in all honesty, I don’t think that’s it.”

Ruki grimaced, “Oh is that so; well, mister high and mighty, what do you think it is?”

“You’re waiting on someone,” he answered. Leaning on one hand, Reita turned to gaze out the windows, staring out over the city of Los Angeles in thought. Returning his gaze back to the other person with a stern look, “I think what **_your_** problem is; you never got the closure you wanted. In fact, I think **_they_** had been the one who had broken if off, hence why you bury yourself in your work. I could make all kinds of assumptions about **_that_** relationship based off of what I’ve come to know about you and so, I also believe that is why you’ve got this moral outlook about dating. So, tell me I’m wrong.”

Ruki wrapped his arms around himself, feeling angry and vulnerable suddenly, he became defensive with a hiss, “You are because you don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“You can lie to yourself all you want Ruki, but, you can never lie to the devil.” With his final words, Reita tapped the top of the table, waving Ruki off with a forced smile, “Have a nice evening, Mr. Matsumoto; I’ll see you in the morning.”

Taking his bag beneath his arm, Ruki quickly left the room and made a dash for the elevators, pushing the button. Jumping onto the lift, his heart pounded painfully loud to his ears, he slumped against the wall. Closing his eyes he took deep calming breaths. The man just knew how to break him down to feel absolutely helpless with one simple look and a few choice words, that it astounded the brunette.

Swallowing the burning lump in his throat, he stared at his feet. Everything the blonde had said to him, it hit close to home but, it wasn’t why. It went so much deeper than his principles about dating.

The next few days had been hectic enough that Ruki was able to focus mainly on his job. After the evening events with Reita, he’d only wanted to forget it and let resurfaced hurt fade. The demands had kept his thoughts from straying to the blonde CEO and he was so thankful for the distraction because he wouldn’t be able to handle him trying to dig at those scarred wounds about his ex. In fact, the man had left L.A. for a short business conference and that had given him very much needed sleep.

Also, in those few days, he had completed several small projects for the editorial department among other small tasks; he now could solely focus on the huge project he had been desperate to keep on his desk. All in all, he felt pretty damned accomplished without the distraction of that man.

A few clicks of his mouse, the brunette stretched his arms over his head. A glance at his watch and then the papers on his desk, he muttered as he began to write, “I’ll just take a late lunch.”

As soon as those words had left his mouth, Reita had strolled into his office with both hands in his pocket, “Hey Ruki.”

Glancing up for only a mere second, Ruki wrote a few words down before giving the blonde his full attention, “is there something you need, Mr. Suzuki?”

“I’d like you to join me for lunch,” he smiled genuinely.

Brow rising, he huffed, “Just the two of us I’m to assume.”

“You assume correctly; it’s just lunch Ruki.”

“Alright, I’ll join you for lunch.”

“Thank you,” the blonde responded in gratitude. Suddenly, the taller stepped back to shut and lock the office door before going up to the desk, eyes never leaving the face of the younger man who was seated behind the furniture he sat on the corner.

“Was there something else,” Ruki squeaked, remaining as calm as possible.

“I want to apologize for the other night,” Reita spoke, voice soft with guilt. His gaze fell on the floor, “I was out of line with what I had said. I completely respect and understand your principles about dating others at your job or just in general.”

Trying to keep the shock from his face, the creative designer set his pen down. Apprehensively staring at the blonde he exhaled softly, “thank you for the apology Mr. Suzuki; but, I suppose in a way, you are right about one thing. I didn’t get closure and so, it’s just something I’m holding onto and using as an excuse.”

They gazed at one another for a small moment, before Reita straightened up with a wink, “I’ll see you at lunch.”

“See you,” he replied as the man left his office.

Slumping into his chair as all the tension slipped from his body, Ruki could feel himself blush. The heat made him feel dizzy. Quickly, he got to his feet to get to the break room for a cup of water, mouth feeling suddenly dry. Drinking the first full cup quickly with a gasp, feeling slightly cooler, he refilled it but this time he drank it much slower.

Eyes sliding shut, he pictured the man in all his sinful glory. That sexy way he smirked, the way he spoke in that deep sensual tone of his. How could someone have so much control over him?

Entire body was once again aflame with desire. Ruki let out a shuddered breath, cursing himself for continuing to be so wanton towards the blonde and for continuously passing up perfect opportunities in having that irresistible man to himself. But, he won’t this time. He was going to lunch with Reita and he will be attending the party with his boss as his date.

“There you are,” Reita suddenly walked in, breaking the thoughts of the other. Immediately taking notice in the very flushed face of the brunette, he grinned, “I forgot something.”

Swallowing the mouthful of water, Ruki pressed up against the wall, “What?”

“This,” he strode up to the man, cupping the diamond shaped face; kissing him passionately for several seconds. Pulling away, he winked again, “don’t forget, I’ll pick you up at seven sharp.”

“Alright,” the man sighed, leaning forward, trying to capture those addicting lips of Reita.

The deep throaty chuckle broke Ruki from his trance, eyes fluttering open as he locked onto those intense brown eyes he always drowned in. Swallowing, he leaned away, smiling shakily; his knees wanting to buckle beneath him. The blonde left him to his thoughts.

Ruki bit his lip, whimpering, “That man is going to be the death of me.”

Gulping down a few more cups of water to cool his heated body, Ruki returned to his office to resume his work. Ruki had lost track of time and didn’t realize that it was now his lunch break. He had been so concentrated on the computer; he jolted abruptly when there was a knock on his door. Reita having come to pick him for their lunch date. Smiling, he quickly saved all his opened files, locking his computer and left with the blonde for lunch.

The man had taken him somewhere different than their other lunches together; it was a small quaint diner a few blocks from work. Reita ordered their food as soon as they walked in, letting them sit and talk about work. Spending the hour almost as if getting acquainted with one another again and Ruki found it much better than when they had first met. It felt so much more intimate.

In fact, if he didn’t know any better, it felt like a date.

When they had returned back to the office, Ruki had felt frustrated by the fact it ended so quickly. But, it was immediately forgotten when the business man had walked him back to his office and gifted him with a quick chaste kiss. The simplicity of it made him feel absolutely blissful. It made him look forward to the night.

Rest of the work day seemed to go by in a blur. The creative designer immediately clocking out at the end of his day; getting on the elevator, he was practically bubbling with anticipation. Yes, it was a Gala for the company and it made him feel nervous in a bad way. It made him question all the ‘what if’s’.

It especially left him wondering what everyone will think of him showing up with the CEO as his date.

Shoving the thought to the back of his mind as he arrived home, he took a quick glance at the time, it was half past five. The traffic had been more horrible than usual and Ruki was irritated. He had lost an entire hour because of traffic. Quickly he showered and dressed.

Going to the full length mirror, Ruki smoothed this pants leg out. Reita had told him to wear something very formal. So, to be on the safe side of what the man might have meant, he had opted for the very classic black tie and suit.

Combing out his hair and styling it, he heard the buzzard for his door. He felt himself panic as he gazed to the clock, Reita was ten minutes early. Cursing to himself, Ruki quickly applied a bit of eyeliner around his eyes, giving another spray of the hairspray product and grabbing his bottle of cologne to put some on.

Taking a step back as he bit his lip, looking himself over, he rushed for the door. The person buzzed again; he took a deep breath. Patting himself down, checking to make sure he had his keys, wallet and cell phone, he opened the door with a smile; “Reita, you’re ear-”

“Hi,” the man greeted.

Shock went through him before he found himself glaring heatedly at the man, hissing, “What are you doing here, Kyo? How hell did you even find out where I lived?”

Rather than answering, the unexpected guest looked Ruki up and down, “Wow, you look amazing.”

Reaching over to turn off the lights in the apartment, he locked and shut the door; demanding, “What the hell are you doing here? Why the hell are you here?”

Kyo muttered pathetically, “I miss you.”

Ruki was nearly floored by the words but not one to let himself get carried away, he shoved past to get to the elevator, “Are you fucking kidding me, Kyo? After all these months; after you broke it off with me? Are you fucking serious?”

“Ruki, please,” the man followed after the brunette, taking him by the arm. Pulling the brunette back to him, “I really do miss you. I was wrong about everything and I-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” he growled, yanking his arm from the hold. Straightening his suit, Ruki shook his head, “ ** _You_** broke up with **_me_** , Kyo.”

“It was a mistake, Ruki.”

At that moment, the brunette’s cell rang. A glance at the screen, Ruki thanked some higher power, it was Reita. A deep breath, he faced his ex with determination, “you need to leave, Kyo. Go home.”

The elevator chimed as it arrived to the floor and the blonde CEO was stepping off. Coming to an abrupt halt he gazed between the two men in the hallway, reading the tension, “am I interrupting?”

“No,” the brunette bit out; turning to the blonde with a forced smile, “he was just leaving.”

Not pushing the situation, Reita opted to look over the attire of the brunette as he stepped aside to let the other onto the lift. Reaching out to comb his fingers through the silky strands of hair, “You look absolutely gorgeous, Mr. Matsumoto.”

Blushing, Ruki tried to play it off with a roll of his eyes, “Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself, Mr. Suzuki.”

He could feel the eyes of his ex-lover on them but he could care less. Not when he had Reita standing in front of him, dressed in a well fitted Armani tuxedo. The blonde CEO was beyond sophisticated in the two button wool and cashmere jacket.

“Well then, if you’re ready, let’s go,” Reita pressed the ground level button.

As the doors of the lift shut, Ruki didn’t miss the extremely furious expression of Kyo. But, he wasn’t about to let his ex-boyfriends sudden appearance ruin his night, he shoved him to the far back into the reaches of his mind. It being done easily as lips had suddenly pressed against his own, making the entire world fog up.

“You really do look gorgeous,” Reita whispered again, brushing the back of his hand along the smooth cheek, “and I’m glad that you’re coming with me.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice at the time,” he joked, nuzzling his nose against the other. He looked up with sigh, “but, if it’s any consolation to your ego, I’m glad too.”

Being pressed back against the wall of the elevator without warning, Ruki whimpered as they kissed each other fervently. Both Reita’s hands cradled his head gently, their mouths worked against each other. Moaning out softly as those sinful lips trailed down his neck, he clutched for dear life onto the shoulders of the blonde, shuddering when he felt the hard length of the man pressed up against him.

As soon as it had started it ended, Reita had backed off quickly. The small confined spaced filled with their heavy breathing, Ruki swallowed as he fell against the wall. This man was constantly taking his breath away and making him go mad.

Taking a breath, he groaned, “Why?”

The blonde’s brows furrowed, “Why what?”

“Why do you always start but never finish.”

Taking one last deep breath, Reita looked Ruki dead in the eyes; answering breathily, “Because you’re different.”

Biting his lip, Ruki pushed off the wall and stepped up to the other to smooth out the tux. Hearing the soft growl erupt from the chest of the CEO, he tilted his head; releasing his lip to question, before biting on it again, “What’s wrong?”

Reaching up and tugging the lip from between the white pearly teeth, Reita groaned, “You know what that does to me.” Swallowing, he straightened himself, “go to dinner with me Ruki, please.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, Ruki almost wanted to be cynical towards the blonde but, he’d also be denying himself. Thinking it over quickly, he nodded, “I’ll go to dinner with you. But, nothing happens tonight. You bring me straight home after the Gala.”

Capturing lips into one more kiss; Reita nodded, “of course.”

And right then, Ruki momentarily wondered if he was doing the right thing. He was on the verge of starting an affair with the CEO; the owner of the company. There were so many things that could go wrong.


	3. Affair III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

He was beyond nervous as they pulled up outside the building being used for the gathering. Having been brought by limo was the last the thing he had expected. But, here he was, stepping out of a sleek black limo; with his boss holding the door open and escorting him up the steps. To say the least, he felt very uncomfortable with the extravagance of it all.

Feeling his face heating beneath all the jealous stares of women as they walked by; Ruki smiled shyly to familiar faces of editors. Restraining from biting his lip, he tried to ignore the men gawking at his seemingly unprecedented arrival to the party; on Reita’s arm most of all. He lowered his head which was immediately raised by the finger of Reita, who genuinely smiled.

Leaning down to whisper in the ear, the blonde walked them to a table; “They’re just enthralled by your perfection.”

Flushing a darker shade of red, Ruki watched as Reita pulled a chair out for him; he smiled meekly as he sat in the seat, “thank you.”

“You’ve really need to get your blushing under control, Mr. Matsumoto.” Reita took a seat beside his date. Leaning closer, lips ghosting over the shell of an ear, he growled, “It makes me want to do some very wicked things to you.”

Sputtering as he was trying to drink some water, Ruki looked wide eyed into the amused, sly grin of the CEO. Swallowing, he quickly excused himself and made his way to the bathroom briskly. Rushing to a stall, he breathed deeply. His insides tying into excited knots. He let a soft whimper go.

This man was definitely going to be his undoing; everything Reita did made Ruki just go mad. The mere sight of the blonde walking made him squirm. Leaning against the wall, turning his head up to the ceiling he exhaled slowly. He needed to get his emotions under control. Reita is his boss for crying out loud and he had shown up to a social gathering with him; as his date.

Ruki couldn’t risk making matters worse or risk rumors spreading that he was sleeping with the man, when they had done no more than dry hump and kiss. Face palming at that thought, he groaned. That was worse than them actually having sex. If they were to have sex, they at least would have been able to get away with it behind closed doors. Not like what had been taking place between them, making out in his office and Reita’s; where anyone could have walked in on them.

Groaning again with his thoughts, he shoved off the wall and left the stall. Stopping to take a look into the mirror; fixing his tie and smoothing out his suit. Taking one last deep breath, slowly exhaling it, he left the bathroom.

“Takanori, I didn’t know you were here,” John appeared, holding two glasses of champagne. The man looked the brunette up and down, “Wow, you are… you look absolutely stunning.”

Putting a hand to his neck, Ruki laughed, “thank you, Mr. Matheson; that’s kind of you.”

“Are you flying solo?”

“Um… N-”

“No, he isn’t,” Reita appeared with a very forced smile. Slipping an arm around the lithe waist, he tugged the creative designer close, “Mr. Matsumoto is my date for the evening.”

The editor pursed his lips together in thought, giving a sharp nod, “I see. Well,” he turned his gaze back to Ruki, offering one of the glasses, “do enjoy yourself, Takanori.”

Taking the offered champagne, Ruki returned a small smile, “thank you, I will.”

Reita scoffed as the man walked away, “I despise that man.”

Creasing his brows by what the man said, the brunette suddenly chuckled, “Why? Mr. Matheson is an exceptional Editor-in-Chief. Why would you-”

“It’s not as much as me having a problem with his working ethics,” Reita began to explain softly as he led them back towards their table, again pulling the chair out for Ruki. He sat with a sigh, “It’s just I’ve got a very thick folder full of complaints from female coworkers.”

Well, this was something. Of all the gossip he’s heard around the office, this was the first he’d ever heard of this. To the Ruki, John had seemed like a gentleman but then again, some men were able to use that to their advantage.

“So, why haven’t you done something about it?”

“We’ve tried,” massaging his eyes, he shook his head, “The complainant **_always_** backs out, and so, we can’t ever get an investigation underway.”

“Why do they always back out?” he asked softly.

“Who knows,” Reita shrugged, taking the champagne the other man had offered Ruki. Stopping a passing waiter, he handed off the glass of champagne and requested, “Bring two glasses of Barbera?”

“Of course sir,” the man bowed taking the glass away.

Scowling at his glass having been taken away, Ruki huffed, “why did you do that? I didn’t even get to taste it.”

“I assure you Mr. Matsumoto, I think you’ll enjoy what I have in mind,” he smiled.

The waiter arrived to the table quickly with two glasses of red wine, the blonde taking it from the waiter with a grateful smile. Giving the brunette the other glass, Reita lightly clink their glasses together; his other hand subtly being placed atop Ruki’s knee. Thin lips pulling into a smile, he kept his voice above whisper, “to you, for giving me one thing I’ve wanted most since I’ve laid eyes on you.”

His own lips tugged up into a smile as Ruki gave a teasing tilt of his head; he reached beneath the table, fingers flittering along the knuckles of the man before he lifted the hand and pushed it aside. Laughing breathily, he leaned forward playing coyly, “and what was that, Mr. Suzuki?”

Grinning into his wine glass before setting it aside; Reita leaned further into Ruki’s space, voice low and husky, “dinner.”

“It sounds like I’ve made you a very happy man,” the creative director returned the grin. Backing away from the close proximity, he bit his lip with a smirk.

“You have, as simple as it sounds,” the man arched a brow. Leaning back in his own seat, he raised his glass, “So, what do you think of the Barbera?”

Taking a sip of the wine, letting it settle on his tongue, Ruki’s brows rose; swallowing, he hummed in thought, “it has a fine silky texture and a crisp taste; a nice plum flavor with a hint of oak.”

Reita stroked his chin for a moment, “You have very exceptional taste. I’m impressed.”

Chuckling, Ruki took another small drink of the wine, letting it settle over his tongue before swallowing. “Well, you’re the one who had opted for red wine, rather than champagne. I should be telling you that.”

Standing while holding his hand out, the blonde smirked, “Dance with me.”

“Dance with you?”

“Yes, dance with me,” he laughed, taking Ruki by the hand and tugging him out of his seat.

Pulling back slightly, the brunette shook his head, “I don’t dance, Reita.”

“C’mon, it’s not as hard as it looks. It’s actually very simple.”

Huffing as he resigned himself to the will of the man, the brunette muttered, “yeah, for you maybe.”

Gazing out over the dance floor that had several couples dancing in elegance, the brunette looked back to his date feeling absolutely self conscious about dancing in front of others. Biting down on his lip anxiously, he gave a shake of his head; blushing as Reita reached up to tug the bit of flesh from between his teeth.

“You know what the does to me, Ruki,” Reita whispered huskily. Straightening up, he led them through the maze of tables out towards the dance floor; tugging the brunette closely to his body, the blonde began to lead him into a slow dance.

“I don’t like dancing so much,” Ruki whispered, following the steps of his boss a little clumsily.

Chest vibrating with a quiet laugh, a hand slowly slipped beneath the suit jacket that covered the brunette’s ass; Reita gave a squeeze to the round flesh, making the brunette jump in surprise. Growling, he tugged Ruki even closer, keeping to the music as they made their way around the dance floor and he continued to feel the other up. Snickering when heard the softest of moans slip past plump lips, he nuzzled the side of the neck, pulling a breathy sigh from the shorter.

“Don’t do that.”

Grin widening, he did again, “do what Ruki?”

Moaning softly as thin lips left a ticklish trail from his neck up to his ear, Ruki swallowed roughly, “don’t do that.”

Humming, Reita did it again to the other side of the neck, “Are you saying you don’t like what I’m doing?”

“No, it’s not that,” he pulled away, gazing deeply into brown eyes; “I’m saying that I’m liking it a little too much and I don’t… like that I like it.”

Blinking the man shook his head slightly, “You don’t like what you’re feeling?”

Ruki licked his lips, “that’s what I said.”

Both slowing to a stop as the music came to a soft end; Reita gazed at the brunette with an unreadable expression. Snapping out of his thoughts as another song began, he ushered Ruki off the floor without a word; taking him back to their table and then he walked off. Leaving him alone and going off to another part of the large dance hall, requesting a glass of cognac from a passing waiter; staring at the uncomfortable brunette.

“Is that who’s caught your interest these past few months?” a man stepped up beside the blonde.

Startled by the voice of the person, Reita did his best to remain as impassive as possible, “Father, I wasn’t aware you were attending the gala. Where’s mom?”

“Your mother had a conference she needed to attend,” the elder replied. Taking a drinking of his scotch, he narrowed his eyes at his son, “And I see why you didn’t know I was coming, you’re too caught up with **_that_** man. Now I see as to why you’ve blatantly miscalculated the Rome account; it’s unlike you.”

“They were simple mistakes father. In fact, I’ll be meeting with the board of directors next week,” he rolled his eyes, taking a large drink of cognac. “They are mistakes that can and will be rectified.”

“For the company’s sake I hope they will be rectified.”

Fingers clenching the glass tightly, he took a deep breath, “I’d appreciate if you kept your nose out of my affairs, father. This is **_my_** company, not **_yours_**.”

The elder sneered, “very well.”

Watching his father walk away with narrowed eyes, Reita took another deep breath before he finished his glass and left it on a table. Running a hand through his hair to calm the irritation his father had left him, the blonde steadily before he decided to return to his date. Smiling when brown eyes were turned to him, he felt an immediate wave of tranquility surge through him. The mere image of the man made him forget everything.

The rest of the evening had mixed together like paints on a canvas. Ruki had an absolute amazing night the gala with the CEO. After the short disappearance of the blonde, the elder had stayed beside him the rest of the evening, almost as if he was showing him off. While he did enjoy the attention Reita had bestowed up, making him feel like he was all there was to the world. So, when the night had come to an end, to say the least he was frustrated.

Arriving back to his apartment by limo once more, Ruki was slightly shocked but so delighted that Reita had even walked him up to his apartment. The blonde leaning in to kiss him so softly, that he wasn’t sure they had even kissed.

“I’ll call to make dinner plans later,” Reita combed a few dark stray strands of hair from Ruki’s forehead.

“Okay,” Ruki murmured bashfully, receiving another soft kiss.

With a wink, the man strolled back towards the elevator, “sleep tight, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“You too,” he replied breathily. Watching the blonde walk back to the elevator with dazed eyes, he shut his door locking it and leaned his against it; exhaling a shaky breath. He needed a cold shower and some very much needed sleep.

Early Saturday morning and Ruki was absolutely tired. Yawning, he went into the coffee shop down the street from his apartment, ordering himself a drink to wake his brain up. Taking a seat near the back, he set his bag atop the table, going through papers from work. Today, he and the photographer will be redoing an entire photo shoot. He was not happy that an entire photo shoot had to be redone, but, with only a few days left for the deadline, Ruki was willing to do just about anything.

Sipping carefully at the hot drink, his eyes skimming over his paperwork; he didn’t notice the body approaching his table. Although, he was startled badly as the person’s voice practically boomed.

“Ruki, we seriously need to talk.”

Nearly dropping the cup all over his papers, Ruki shot the man a harsh glare. Setting his cup away from all his paper, he hissed with all the venom he possessed, “God Damn it Kyo. You scared the shit out of me! How the hell did you even know I was here?”

“We **_have_** to talk.”

“No, we don’t,” he snapped, “You need to leave; you need to go home.”

“Not until we talk,” he sat in the chair opposite of Ruki. Leaning over and trying to take the hands of the brunette who quickly withdrew his hands, “please, Ruki. Can we please talk this out?”

“There is nothing to talk about,” he growled, stuffing his work back inside the bag. Ruki looked up at the other, shaking his head, “Kyo, we’re done. I live here in the states now. I’m not going to back to Japan and I’m not looking for a long distance relationship.”

Looking down at the table, Kyo became thoughtful. Turning his eyes back up, he smiled, “Well, I’ll move here then.”

Taken back by what his ex had just said, Ruki thought it over for a moment. But, he stopped when he had remembered their fight the night he was offered the job; the way the other had screamed in his face. Kyo intentionally made him cry and feel bad for accepting the job. The man had lashed out at him.

Shaking his head, Ruki grabbed his bag and stood, “Go home Kyo. We’re done. There is no us.”

“It’s because of that guy from last night, isn’t it,” he hissed, standing and grabbing Ruki by the upper arm. Shoving the brunette back into the chair, Kyo growled, “You’ve already found someone to fuck haven’t you? What are you doing, screwing your way to the top?”

“You need to leave me alone, Kyo,” Ruki stood back up. Swallowing his edginess, he shoved past the man, “you need to get on the first flight back to Japan or you’re going to regret it.”

“What the hell are you going to do?” the man snorted, “You’ve never done anything before.”

“Is there a problem?” a man wearing a black suit walked up, staring intently at Kyo.

“Keep your nose out of other people’s business,” Kyo snapped at the stranger.

The man frowned, “Mr. Matsumoto **is** my business; I’ve been hired as a personal guard; so, I’ll repeat the question, is there a problem?”

“No,” Ruki smiled in gratefulness towards the man. “He was just leaving, he’s got a flight back to Japan this evening, don’t you Kyo.”

“Very well,” the guard bowed his head, ushering Ruki towards the entrance of the café. Holding the door open, he questioned the brunette, “are you sure you don’t want to call the authorities, Mr. Matsumoto?”

Shaking his head, he turned to the man with a raised brow, “I’m assuming a Mr. Suzuki had hired you to  be my guard.”

“Yes, Mr. Suzuki hired me; I am Adrian Reese,” he answered, motioning Ruki towards a black Cadillac Escalade. Opening the door, he answered the question that the man was about to voice, “it’s merely as a precaution. Mr. Suzuki had spotted that man outside your apartment after you were dropped off late last night.”

Humming in annoyance, Ruki got into the back of the car, the man going around and getting in on the driver side. Taking his cell phone out, he dialed the blonde’s number. It ringing twice before being answered, he hissed, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“ _Well, good morning to you too, Mr. Matsumoto_ ,” he chuckled.

“Seriously, **_what_** are you doing?”

“ _It’s just a precaution, Adrian is very good at his job_ ,” Reita answered simply. There was a familiar sound in the back ground as he snickered, “ _I’m just looking out for you Ruki, is that so wrong_?”

“Perhaps I didn’t want to be looked after,” he huffed, becoming frustrated by the blonde’s slightly control freak side.

“ _Look_ ,” Reita sighed on the other side of the line, “ _just please, let me do this for you. I only have your safety in mind, that’s it_.”

Rubbing his temple, Ruki gave in, “fine, only until Kyo leaves alright.”

“ _That’s all I’m asking_ ,” Reita spoke with a hint of a smile.

Not able to stop the smile from making its way on his face, the brunette laughed. While the man was very aggravating at times, he couldn’t help but find some relief in him. Leaning back in the seat, Ruki noticed that driver knew exactly where he wanted to go and that made him scowl immediately. The fact the blonde knew what his plans were irritated him.

“You know my schedule?” he growled.

“ _I told you, it’s just precaution_ ,” the man immediately defended himself. Clearing his throat, he changed to topic smoothly, “ _so, how about we have dinner tonight_?”

“Eager are we?” Ruki snorted, gazing out the window.

The man laughed breathily, “ _Can you blame me? You are absolutely gorgeous, smart, independent, and extremely desirable; did I say gorgeous_?”

Laughing at the flirtatious tone of his boss, Ruki bit his lip, “Yeah, you did. What time-”

“ _Does eight o’clock sound fine_?” Reita cut him off.

Rolling his eyes at the commanding tone, he pinched his nose, “Eight’s fine. Any particular way I should dress.”

“ _Something casual will do just fine_.”

“Very well,” he sighed again, a small smile appearing, “I’ll see you for dinner.”

“ _I’m looking forward to it,_ ” Reita replied with a hint of a smirk. “Have a nice day Ruki.”

Shaking his head as he put his phone away, Ruki groaned. The blonde had a very controlling nature, no doubt because of his job. Relaxing in the back seat, he watched everything go by until they arrived at the building. Nodding to his personal guard, Ruki walked into the building, finding the photographer waiting for him.

“What are you doing down here, Anthony?” he questioned immensely displeased. “You should be up in the studio getting things prepared.”

The man scratched his head, “Uh… yeah well, I was getting everything set up, until Mr. Suzuki showed and told me to go home.”

Ruki’s mouth fell open in disbelief. Clenching his bag tightly, heated all over again, he went for the elevator, “Just wait here Anthony, I’m going to go and speak with Mr. Suzuki.”

“O-Okay,” he stuttered.

He was on beyond angry. Foot tapping rapidly as he waited for the elevator to get up to the studio level; it seeming like it took forever. When it arrived, the door barely opening, he burst through to find the blonde speaking to the models that had been hired for the shoot.

Dropping his bag to the floor, storming right up to the man, yanking on the shoulder harshly; he tried not to scream, “What the hell are you doing? Why did you tell Anthony to go home? He’s the photographer!”

“I am now,” he smirked smugly.

“What!” he exclaimed, blushing furiously when all attention was turned on him.

Taking Reita by the arm and pulling him to an empty room inside the studio, he slammed the door, turning to scream at the man, he was pushed up against the door. Gasping as a tongue was forced past his lips, licking his entire mouth. His resolution faded fast as his boss touched him all over, picking him up off his feet and pinning him tightly up against the door.

The room began to spin with the intoxication of the other and Ruki couldn’t fight the feeling, as he clutched the steely shoulders. Keening in the back of his throat as his lips were released and Reita began placing scorching kisses to his throat.  Teeth biting and teasing the sensitive skin of his neck; he tilted his head to give better access. He didn’t want this to stop.

Head falling back, he entangled his fingers through the blonde hair; his body moving on its own.

Groaning, Reita captured the lips again; his voice rough with desire, “you’re like a drug.”

Mewling in positive reaction, Ruki yanked the man to him for another kiss. Panting when Reita pulled away, he pleaded wantonly, “don’t stop.”

The blonde hissed through his teeth, the need in the brunette’s voice almost too much for him to ignore, but, they had to. Setting him back on his feet, pressing quick kisses on the already swollen lips, he laughed breathily, “We have to. You’ve got a job to do.”

“It can wait,” Ruki whispered, kissing him once more.

Laughing against the lips, he gazed intensely into brown eyes, “work now and play later.”

Pursing his lips in irritation, Ruki caught his breath, “you’re such a tease.”

“You like it though,” he said huskily.

Scoffing, he quickly turned and opened the door. Going back towards the bag he had dropped on the floor, he caught the sly smirk making its way on the corner of thin lips. Brushing past and setting his bag on the chair, he got to work; making sure to call the other photographer still waiting in the lobby and letting him leave.

Quickly going over what he would like to have done for the shoot with Reita. The man nodding his head with everything he had said. He got to work quickly, directing the models in posing for the pictures. Ruki studying the pictures as they appeared on the screen of the laptop with every captured image; realizing how much he had missed the man’s photographic eye compared to the other. They got through the shoot quick, finishing earlier than what he thought.

“So, how do they look?” Reita popped up beside the others chair, having finished with packing all the equipment.

“There good,” Ruki hummed, writing on the paper and typing on the computer.

“Just good?” the man pretended to look offended.

Narrowing his eyes playfully, he nodded, “Yes, they’re fine. It’s what I needed and I thank you for that.”

Snorting as he took a seat next to the working brunette, Reita trailed his hand along the thigh with a raised brow, “remember to be ready by eight.”

“I will be,” he answered humorlessly.

Watching the man get up and go to the elevator out of the corner of his eyes, Ruki chortled to himself the moment the elevator closed.  Working just a bit longer after everyone had left; he shut the laptop and set it off to the side, removing his glasses to rub his tired eyes. Stretching his arms above his head, he grabbed his phone; looking to his watch and seeing it was nearly seven.

Taking his bag from the floor he went to the elevator, pushing the call button and waited. Rolling his neck as he stepped on; getting to the ground level, he smiled to his chauffer. Getting back to his apartment, he took his time in getting ready. Reita had said casual clothing but, he wasn’t one to be dressed casually, so he opted for a dark grey suit and a maroon button up shirt.

Taking another look at his wristwatch he hummed to himself, “he should be here any minute.”

Just as the words slipped past his lips, there was firm knock on his front door. Grabbing his phone, wallet and keys he answered. Reita was dressed in jeans, white ironed button up shirt and a tan two button poplin jacket.

“Hi there,” the blonde winked playfully, “come here often?”

Rolling his eyes as he locked up his apartment, he retorted with sarcasm, “If only closed minds came with closed mouths.”

“Now that was just mean,” the CEO pouted.

Reaching up and giving the man’s cheek a pinch with a smile, “yet you’re still taking me to dinner and honestly, there are just some days I need a hug; with a paddle.”

Bursting out laughing, Reita slipped his arm around the waist of the brunette, “I think I can arrange that.”

 “Oh, I’m sure you can,” Ruki laughed along. Letting himself be led outside, he nearly gaped at the silver Dodge Viper SRT sitting harmlessly on the street. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What,” Reita questioned innocently, opening the door for the brunette.

Shaking his head, he got into the lustrous car, buckling himself in. The blonde getting in a second later, starting and pulling out; Ruki could only watch the street lights fly by. Noticing they were heading downtown of Los Angeles; where all the clubs were.

“Are you taking me clubbing instead?” he clicked his tongue a little annoyed.

The man didn’t answer, but a sly smile gradually curled in the corner of his mouth. Pouting slightly, Ruki leaned his elbow against the door, nestling his chin on his closed fist. Not saying another word while Reita drove, not saying a word; so, he was more than little surprised they pulled up to a very large establishment.

Walking pass the very long line of patrons, they made it to the front, the doorman nodding his head at Reita with recognition. Getting inside, Ruki was in awe at the size of the place. Being led off in a direction, he watched the people on the floor dancing salsa; an actual salsa band playing on stage.

“C’mon, we’re heading to the basement,” the blonde informed his date.

Not getting the chance to question why the basement, Ruki followed. And he could see why they were in the basement instead; it had more of the music he was used to. The two men made their way to the bar where once more, the blonde was quickly attended to and the creative director couldn’t help but wonder how much of a regular his boss was. It also gave him thoughts about how many women or men he has brought here.

After a few drinks, the blonde CEO led him out onto the dance floor right, into the large crowd of dancing bodies. Pulled tightly against the body, they began to move to the beat. Letting himself go, forgetting the faint worries, he began to move sensually against Reita. Their bodies completely in sync with each other and the music; he couldn’t deny that he liked this. Turning around so his back was pressed to Reita’s front, he bit his lip as he looked up at the blonde through his eyelashes; quivering as large hands moved a over his stomach, his hips, making him hot all over.

The hours seemed to have gone by like minutes, as he got lost in the man, the bass of the beat; Ruki was pulled off to a corner where he was pounced on immediately. The taste of whiskey on Reita’s tongue made him feel even more intoxicated. All he needed was this man to lose his mind.

Heatedly making out with the other man, Ruki needed to pull away for a moment; breathe heavy with lust, spotting an open booth out of the corner of his eye and he suddenly shoved Reita into it. Straddling him and yanking him for another kiss. Rolling his hips into the other’s slowly. The hands on his thighs tightened as he gave another roll of his hips, whimpering softly as he felt the bulge against his ass; eliciting growls of pleasure from the blonde as he kept doing it.

Gasping as the blonde moved his mouth to his neck, biting and sucking roughly; the brunette couldn’t think through the thick blanket of pleasure. He had wanted this for far too long, that now that it was happening, he didn’t care where they were. He didn’t care they were in public, where anyone could see them; he just didn’t care. But, it wasn’t the same for Reita.

“Ruki,” he swallowed, groaning as the man kept moving against him. “Shit; stop. You gotta-”

The brunette pulled away with a glare, “Are you fucking serious!”

Easing the other onto his feet, Reita calmed his breathing, “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say, let’s go back to my place. But, just for that, I’m going to let you suffer.”

Gaping as the man walked off, Ruki snarled, “You dick!”

“I was kidding,” He laughed, pulling the brunette to him for a quick kiss, “but, my place would be way more fun because there’s a bed.”


	4. Affair IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

As soon as they had got themselves back in Reita’s luxurious car, Ruki found it extremely hard to keep his hands to himself. The brunette was completely unable from reaching over and running his hand between the legs of Reita, feeling, massaging the hard bulge. Enjoying the way the man would tighten his hands on the steering wheel, doing his best to keep his eyes focused on the road. The sight made him groan. Biting on his lip erotically; knowing just how much it turned the blonde on.

Coming to a red light, Ruki no longer had the self control and yanked Reita to him; lips and teeth clashing. Whimpering into the mouth as he reached back between the legs feeling the hard length against his palm, he began trying to the get zipper of the man’s jeans down. Before he was even close to being successful, he was shoved back into his seat as the light turned green. Ruki thought it was the shortest green light ever.

“You’re definitely ready to make it a night, aren’t you,” the blonde smirked, glancing at Ruki out of the corner of his eye.

Arching into his seat slightly, the brunette his bit his lip, growling, “Can you blame me? With all the fucking teasing, I’m surprised I lasted as long as I did.”

Reita chuckled huskily, “But I’m sure glad you lasted this long.”

Moaning loudly as he slipped his hand between his legs to massage himself, Ruki looked up through his eyelashes; whining softly, “How much longer?”

The blonde’s nose flared and his breathing became sharp; groaning, “Shit Ruki. I- just-we’re almost there.”

Smirking with being able to bring the usually confidant man to incoherent sentences, Ruki ran his tongue along his top lip; popping open the button to his pants. Quivering all over as the man growled lustfully at his display. So, he decided to see how far he could push the man. Return the favor of all teasing he did.

Reaching up to unbutton the first few buttons to his shirt, he kept his eyes on the face of the man; Ruki dipped his hand inside, smoothing his palm all over his chest. Whimpering softly as he touched himself; gifted with another growl immediately. He couldn’t deny how much of a turn on it was teasing the man beside him but, he could see why Reita had continuously teased him; he liked that little bit of power he had over the blonde.

“Fuck,” Reita groaned; taking one hand off the steering wheel to reach over and feel Ruki up, scowling as his hand was shoved away.

“Keep your hands on the wheel,” Ruki ordered huskily. His own hand dancing along the thigh, never getting close enough to touch the man’s arousal.

Groaning in annoyance, the blonde did as he was told. Keeping both his hands on the steering wheel, his foot pressing down more on the gas; speeding the car up. About twenty minutes later, Reita was pulling into a garage for his home. Quickly, parking the car, he moved his seat back, unbuckling himself and Ruki at the same time; yanking the brunette onto his lap.

Lips meshing hurriedly together, the seat laid back; clothes were quickly shoved aside to feel as much skin as possible, Ruki’s shirt hanging off one shoulder, while Reita’s hung wide open. The younger man working on unfastening and shoving the pants off his boss just enough, not thinking about how he had planned on removing his own in such a tight space; but, after some moving around he somehow managed to slip them off with the help of the CEO.

Firmly taking the hot arousal of the blonde in his hand, Ruki didn’t even hesitate to take Reita’s fingers into his mouth to suck and lubricate them with a moan. He was so excited the he couldn’t stop trembling because he had fantasize, had **_wanted_** this for so long. Now that everything was happening at supersonic speed, he just couldn’t keep himself calm.

So, when the fingers were removed from his mouth, the brunette couldn’t help the plea that fell from his lips, “please Reita, I want you.”

“I know you do,” was the breathy reply.

Out of his eye, Ruki could faintly make out the smirk in the weak street light but as the man did as he wished by pushing the first digit, making him groan uncomfortably.  Forcing himself to relax, he let his head fall onto the shoulder of the man, breathing through the feeling. Moaning softly as the second was pushed into him, he felt Reita shiver at the sound of his voice, so again, he moaned. The feel of being stretched out so carefully had Ruki leaning back against the steering wheel, making the horn blare for a short moment. Neither one of the men cared though; it was just them.

The cab of the sports car was becoming hot and heavy with their labored breaths, that Reita was quickly losing his self control. He so badly wanted to fuck Ruki. The blonde no longer had the patients, spitting into his hands to slick his arousal with a groan. Hand tightening on the hip of the man as he helped the body over his arousal, Reita gazed intensely at the man above him, loving the way those lashes fluttered and the rosy flush on the soft supple skin.

The tight space of the car was so intoxicating, it was so hot, that there was absolutely no way someone could stop Ruki, he couldn’t think straight. Slowly lowering himself onto the cock, whining at the slight burning penetration, he had to momentarily pause before he kept lowering himself. Fingers dug into the shoulders of the blonde as he felt so filled, feeling so blissful at the feel of the man inside of him.

Biting on his lip as he gazed down at the blonde, lids heavy with lust, he gave a slow roll of his hips, watching as Reita’s eyes darkened. Ruki definitely liked the control he currently had over the blonde man. The CEO was practically putty in his hands as he became more confident in his movements, sensually rolling his hips.

Taking a tight grip of the headrest, he leaned over to take Reita’s lips into a passionate kiss, moving up and down the shaft harder and faster with a moan. This moment was better than anything he had fantasized about. Soon Reita’s hands were all over his body at once, burning his skin with rough, sensual touches. Never had he imagined being taken inside the tight confinement of a sports car but, this would be something he’d brag about; especially in such a luxurious car.

“Fuck you’re so tight,” Reita growled, thrusting up every time Ruki rolled his hips.

Smiling in satisfaction, Ruki licked the shell of the blonde’s ear; enjoying the pleasured groan as he keened lewdly, “you feel so good inside of me, Mr. Suzuki.”

“Damn,” the blonde grunted, thrusting into the body the best he could, “keep talking like that.”

Beginning to chuckle and it was cut off with a whine immediately; that hidden bundle of nerves being found, he whimpered; “You like that.”

“Fuck yeah, god I love your voice.”

Fingers digging even more into the headrest, Ruki tried to move harder and faster in the tight space of the car. He wanted to reach his peak as quick as he could. He couldn’t take the heat of the car, his oversensitive skin, the touch of strong hands and the stab against his prostate.

“Fuck, that’s it baby,” Reita growled, helping the brunette move. “Fuck just like that; ride me just like that.”

“Yes, oh god yes, I love riding you,” he moaned shamelessly. Putting a hand atop the chest of Reita, moving his hips harder and faster, he repeated himself in whimper, “oh fuck, oh fuck; make me cum. Please Reita, make me cum.”

“Fuck yeah, baby.” the CEO growled, moving even more desperately, “I’m gonna make you cum hard baby.”

Rolling his hips, Ruki whined in the back of his throat as his dick was grasped and stroked firmly. That being the final push as he slammed back down atop of Reita, crying out hoarsely as he came; the tightening of his body around Reita’s cock being just what the man needed as he came inside of him with a dark growl.

Coming down from his high, the blonde caught his breath, laughing breathily, “holy shit. That was fucking amazing.”

Collapsing completely against Reita, muscles relaxing Ruki laid his head on the man’s chest. Taking deep breaths, he laughed suddenly, “Yeah, that was. I’ve never fucked in a car before. That was so fucking amazing.”

Chuckling, Reita combed his fingers through the sweaty strands of hair. His other hand ran up along the smooth thigh, he joked, “Well, that little bit of news just makes me feel pretty damned special.”

“I’m sure it does,” Ruki sat up with a grin, his hands playing along the smooth chest. He tilted his head, a sly sexy smirk curling on his lips, “think we can make it to the bed this time?”

“I’ll be surprised if we make it to the elevator,” Reita murmured huskily as he yanked Ruki in for a hot kiss. Groaning as fingers wandered down to his belly button and lower to lightly play in his happy trail. Pulling away, he grunted, “But if you do that, we might not even make it out of the car.”

Humming in delight, Ruki pushed his tongue inside the unresisting mouth of the blonde, gradually moving his mouth against the other. Taking pleasure in the man, the strong, powerful taste; the hands up his back, holding him firmly against the muscled body. He definitely didn’t have a problem with round two of sex inside the car.

“C’mon,” Reita pulled away with another grunt. Opening the door to let some air in, he lifted Ruki easily and set him back on the passenger side with a wink, “we can start round two in a bed.”

Quickly adjusting his button up shirt and slipping his pants on, Ruki was so ready to go to the man’s home. He had gone without sex long enough and he had months of pent up frustration. So as they made their way to the elevator, he once again couldn’t keep his hands to himself; but, neither could Reita. The moment they were on the elevator, Reita had him pinned up against the wall of the lift, touching him all over once more, tasting him and demanding all of him.

Mouths moving desperately, passionately; Ruki nearly ripped the shirt from the man, his hands playing along the top of the jeans. The ride up seeming long; their lips never once breaking contact when the lift finally made a sound of arrival, the blonde picking up the brunette with ease. Being carried through the home, not caring to look at the extravagance of Reita’s home; because, the only thing he cared about was being taken in the blonde’s bed.

And so, when he was laid atop a plush mattress, the man only had eyes for the other, their clothing immediately being shed with fervor. Large hands being stretched out over his stomach, groping him everywhere. Ruki let himself go completely. Nothing was about to ruin this night, not even himself.

“God, you’re so fucking gorgeous,” Reita groaned, kissing pale peach skin. The only response he got was a sharp gasp and a soft cry of adulterated pleasure as he nipped at the smooth stomach. Feeling the muscles beneath soft skin twitch, he murmured against the body, “so fucking gorgeous; so fucking sexy.” 

Entire body flushing from head to toe at such a shameless tone, Ruki yanked the CEO to him, mouths connecting. Spreading his legs wider, to accommodate the other between him. Whining as the man took the intimate gesture and pushed into him; filling him once more. Head falling back against plush pillows, hands going to the headboard, they began to move steadily.

An arm encircling his waist, holding his lithe body up Reita moved into him. Their soft sounds of sex filling the quietness of the penthouse. Ruki’s moans and cries of euphoria the more prominent as they steadily increased their pace; the man’s thrusts becoming more powerful but at the same time, they felt so placid. It was driving Ruki insane, their pace having slowed from frantic release to prolonging foreplay.

If the brunette could say anything about the man as a sex partner, he would say that Reita was a very intense, passionate lover; a ‘ ** _one of a kind’_** , kind of lover. The way the muscles pulsated beneath taut tan skin was enlivening. Making you want to touch him everywhere; feel every bit of muscle quiver and perform with each thrust.

Reita was a dream comes true.

“Reita,” Ruki whined, his thighs clamping tightly on the strong hips. A hand going to claw desperately at a shoulder, “Please; oh fuck, please.”

He wanted him to go faster, to go harder; but, the blonde had other things in mind as he kept with the solid, slow torturous pace. One hand gripped onto the knee of Ruki, while his other had come up and held him by the junction of his neck and shoulder firmly; giving him the perfect stance to hold him while they kissed intensely. The position also gave Reita the perfect angle to penetrate Ruki’s spot.

If Ruki didn’t know any better, he would have thought he’d died a thousand times over as his orgasm had hit him out of nowhere. His mouth falling open in a silent cry with the intensity of it; more than shocked that Reita kept moving inside of him, dousing him with pure bliss. Not for one second did he feel exhausted.

The months of teasing had kept his sexual desire peaked, his body wasn’t ready to just stop when it was finally getting what it’s desired. And he had no quarrel with it, as they went into the early hours of the morning having sex. Ruki felt he’d be sated for the rest of the year.

Sighing in bliss as the streaming daylight woke him his sleep, Ruki rolled over and gave a long cat like stretch over the large bed with a long yawn. As he became more aware, the creative directore found that he was alone. Pushing himself into a sitting position with another yawn, he gazed around the large room, listening for the other man. Not spotting or hearing Reita, he slid to the edge of the bed, humming at the way his entire body was pleasantly sore.

Slowly getting to his feet, he went to the railing, looking over and straight down into the living room; it was a lofted penthouse. The entire loft was the CEO’s bedroom. It had a perfect view of the entire city of Los Angeles from the bedroom out of the large windows.

Becoming intrigued and excited by the little discovery, Ruki quickly found his boxers and a shirt and threw them on. The brunette was going to explore the home while he could. Going straight for the staircase, he noticed that not only where there stairs that went down to the main level, it also went up as well. Biting his lip, he went up. Mouth dropping as he walked out onto the roof deck that had the view of the city, oceans and far off canyons.

Emotions burst in his chest at such an amazing sight, he had to see more and he rushed back in and down the stairs to the main level. The penthouse was absolutely breathtaking as he gazed around. It was extremely spacious. It was very private.

Making his way towards the large ceiling windows, gazing out over the city, Ruki sighed. Gaze falling onto the terrace being overlooked by the windows, he spotted the blonde CEO out there on his cell, pacing leisurely. No doubt it was an important call from the serious expression on the man’s face.

Leaning carefully against the cool glass, Ruki drank in the sight of the man. Reita had only pulled on a pair of grey sweats that hung loosely on his hips, chest bare and exposed to the world. Biting on his lip as continued to stare, he couldn’t help but to remember the way the man felt against him, the way he held him, kissed him. Also though, he couldn’t help but be reminded miserably of the fact that Reita is the CEO and he had just slept with him.

Heaving a heavy and depressing sigh, Ruki turned and made his way back up to the loft room, straight for the bathroom. As he entered, he had to refrain from letting his jaw drop. He had dreamt of a bathroom this size, not to mention the size of the separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. It was too bad that he’d never step foot in it again. Shaking his head of the thoughts, he went to the sink, splashing water over his face.

The water felt refreshing and lifted his head to look over his reflection. A blush came to his face as he took in morning after sex hair and the dark markings of hickeys and bites that trailed from his neck to his chest and even further where there were a lot more. Just seeing the marks made his stomach flutter and feel hot.

Biting on his lip with a shy smile, Ruki began trying to comb his hair out the sex tangles with fingers but the stubborn strands were being difficult. Huffing in irritation, he instead leaned back over to splash more water onto his face. Reaching for the nearby hand towel to pat himself dry, he hadn’t noticed the person walking in.

Turning with the towel still over his face, the man immediately bumped straight into that person. A little startled, he quickly lowered the towel to gaze right into the face of Reita who wasted no time in gently taking the head of the brunette and swooping in for a kiss not realizing how pleased this had made Ruki. In his mind, Ruki had totally expected to be kicked out or even let himself out.

Pulling away just enough so their nose brushed, the blonde swept a thumb over the kissed swollen lip with a smile, “I thought you were going to sleep the entire day away. I think I’ll make that a goal for our next little rendezvous.”

“Next time you say,” Ruki questioned, surprised by the bold statement.

Humming, the blonde kissed the other once more, “that’s what I said.”

Laughing softly against the other’s lips, Ruki cocked a brow and snorted, “What makes you so confident about there being a next time”

“It’s just a feeling babe,” Reita hummed. Lifting the shorter off his feet and taking the brunette back into the bedroom, he sat on the edge so that Ruki could straddle him. Placing few chaste kisses along the neck with a smirk, “although, I’m sure if need be, I’ll be able to convince you otherwise.”

Sighing with a roll of his eyes, he tried to argue, “Reita, if I-”

“Don’t,” the man ordered, kissing Ruki to keep him from continuing, “let’s not worry about that right now.”

Grimacing in annoyance, he tried again, only to moan into another press of lips. Encircling his arms around the strong neck, he decidedly deepened the kiss with a faint smile. Perhaps the CEO was right, it was something they could talk about later.

“C’mon,” Reita caressed the smooth face, “I got some lunch ready. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Lunch,” he blinked surprised, “How long have I been asleep?”

“It’s more like a late lunch; it’s a little after one,” the man explained thoughtfully. Winking with a grin as he began to grope the man sitting atop of him; another kiss, Reita curled a strand of dark hair around his finger, “we didn’t exactly go to sleep until pretty early this morning.”

Blushing, Ruki suddenly felt a little self conscious. “Wow, I mean, I knew we- Had we seriously fucked all night?”

Laughing at the blatant question, Reita stood the both of them up. Taking the hand of his gorgeous lover and led him down to the kitchen to the dining room table, pulling the chair out and motioning him to take a seat. Grabbing the nearby bowl of fruit, plate of sandwiches and a glass of orange juice, he set it in front of the other man.

“So, did we?” he repeated the question as he took one of the sandwiches.

“Well, we didn’t get here until a little past midnight,” Reita began with his answer, taking a piece of watermelon and eating it with a grin, “So, not quite all night. Perhaps I’ll make that another goal.”

“Gotta say,” he murmured, taking a bite and chewing slowly. “That’s probably a first.”

Reita cocked a brow, “A first?”

Quickly taking another bite as a way to keep from answering, he took the juice Reita had poured for him and took a drink. Shrugging in hopes that the man wouldn’t make him say it because the mere thought was embarrassing, it seemed to have worked as the blonde took a sandwich and began to eat.

Eating in silence for a few minutes, Reita decidedly spoke up with a sly grin; “So, are you trying to tell me that you’ve never cum that many times or you’ve never had sex for hours?”

Nearly choking on the bite of food, Ruki had to reach over for his drink. Gulping it quickly to clear his throat of the food; he coughed with a blush. Looking up into the bemused face of his boss, he tried to play it off with a quick shrug of shoulders.

“C’mon, you can tell me,” Reita hid a smirk.

Pursing his lips in thought, Ruki answered slowly, “Yes, to both.”

“For some reason, I find that hard to believe.”

Puzzled by the comment, he snorted, “Why is that hard to believe?”

Scooting his chair closer, reaching out to cradle the brunette’s head, he breathing huskily, “You Mr. Matsumoto was incredibly insatiable; you just kept begging.”

Gazing deep into brown eyes when heat began to blossom in the pit of his stomach, Ruki leaned forward to kiss his lover; but, the man’s cell suddenly rang, stopping him. Seeing the annoyance in Reita’s eyes, he gave a nod as a means to give him permission to the answer the device. Chuckling as the man grumbled into his cell.

“Suzuki.” He paused as the person spoke, a glance at the man across from him, “Yes, he is; what’s happened?”

Blinking when Reita suddenly stood and left the table, Ruki got up to follow as well. The man turning back to him with a stern expression, pointing back to the chair, before going out onto the terrace, sliding the door shut; Ruki frowned. Slowly sitting back in the chair, he watched from his spot as the man spoke to whomever on the phone, seeing the shoulders tense and then, alarm set in on the face. He knew this phone call couldn’t be good because now, Reita was downright furious.

Lowering his head to stare at the bowl of fruit, he reached out and picked a grape from it, merely rolling it between his fingers. He raised it to his lips and took a bite out of it. Chewing and swallowing slowly, he was startled as the glass door slid open.

Standing, he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong; is everything alright.”

“No,” Reita answered, stepping to Ruki and kissing his forehead, “I need you to go get dress.”

“What; why? What’s going on?”

The blonde shook his head, “please, Ruki, just go get dressed. We need to leave right away.”

“No,” he growled, not liking the way he was being treated, “I’m not doing anything until you tell me what the fuck is going on. Who the hell was that?”

Sighing, he nudged Ruki back to his seat; face grim, “Last night; your friend broke into your apartment and completely trashed it.”

“My frie-” he started utterly confused, only to gasp in a mix of shock and horror. Only one other person coming to mind, he felt his chest constrict, “Kyo broke in and trashed my apartment? How did he even get into the fucking building?”

“That was Adrian I had just got off the phone with. At the moment, we are not sure how he’d gotten in. That isn’t the worst of it,” Reita winced, knowing that if he told him this, the man would freak completely; but, he had to. Giving a shake of his head, “apparently, he had followed us to the club last night.”

Feeling the color drain from his face, he was almost afraid to ask, “How do you know that?”

“From the time it had been reported by your neighbors, we were well on our way here. So, Adrian had put two and two together. He’s been speaking with the authorities all morning but now, they want to speak with you.”

Slumping in the chair, shocked with the events, Ruki couldn’t believe it. His ex had jumped off the deep end. His ex had broken into his home, the one place he should be safe. Face palming; he shuddered at the thought of what Kyo was capable of, “what do I do now? He’s obviously not scared by the fact I have a personal bodyguard.”

“You will be staying with me for the time being,” Reita insisted in his authoritative tone; leaving no room for argument. Placing his thumb beneath the chin, he kissed Ruki, “Now go get dressed. We’re going to go and get your things, alright. See how bad the damage is.”

“I won’t be able to afford to pay for the damages,” Ruki exclaimed, tears of frustration forming.

“I’ll take care of it,” he answered. Grabbing his cell, he called someone, “Jason, I need you to come to my place. We’re going to salvage Mr. Matsumoto’s things from his apartment.”

“Reita, I couldn’t possibly ask you to pay for the damages.”

“This isn’t a discussion Ruki, I will take care of the damages,” he smiled, setting his phone back down. Tugging the man onto his lap, nuzzling the nose, he assured him the best he could, “I’ll take care of everything, don’t worry.”

Feeling awed and grateful, the shorter frowned, “Where’s Kyo now?”

“We don’t know at the moment,” Reita grimaced. Rubbing his lover’s back, “but, we’ll find him.”

“This sucks,” Ruki tried not to sob, burying his face into the blondes’ neck. “I can’t believe he went this far.”

“C’mon, Jason will be here any minute,” he stood, setting Ruki on his feet; pressing a kiss to the smooth forehead.

Going up the stairs and gathering his clothes; Ruki dressed. Smoothing the wrinkles out of his shirt and pants, going into the bathroom he tried combing out his hair again and managing to straighten it out.

“Ruki, Jason’s here,” Reita appeared in the doorway.

Releasing another heavy sigh, he followed Reita out to the awaiting car; climbing in. Buckling himself in, he sat to stare out the window, trying to wrap his head around it. He was completely aware Kyo had some anger issues; he’d been on the receiving end of it many times before but never, had he imagined him going so far. Shaking his head of the troubling thoughts, he let his eyes fall shut. Glad that he had Reita there beside him, with a comforting arm around his shoulders.

“Ruki, wake up,” Reita gently shook the napping man. Smiling as the other mumbled, “c’mon, we’re here.”

Opening his eyes, looking around in a daze, Ruki saw they indeed were at his apartment. Stifling a yawn, he got out of the car, finding his body guard standing at the entrance, looking solemn.

“Adrian,” Reita acknowledge, shaking the man’s hand, “tell me what the authorities said.”

Looking into the apartment unsure, he looked to the two; Adrian gave him a comforting smile, “its fine for you to go up.”

Nodding, he went in to the elevator. Pressing the call button and going up to his floor. Stepping off, he could see the yellow tape draped over his door, reminding him of those homicide TV shows. Frowning, he stepped through it and his face fell. Kyo had really trashed his apartment. Everything was broken, furniture was flipped over, the table was broken and his fifty inch flat screen TV was busted to hell.

“That asshole,” he hissed. Stepping over the broken glass, he felt even more horrible; the man had even broken out all the windows in the apartment.

Quickly going to his room, he opened the door to only fall against the frame. This was just sick. It made him absolutely sick to his stomach that a person is capable of doing something like this; the sight of red rose petals scattered all over the untouched bed made him want to vomit. Tearing his gaze away from the bed, he went to his closet; thanking God that his expensive designer suits had been remained untouched. Pulling a suitcase out, he began to grab the biggest necessities.

“Hey,” Reita walked in. Lips pressed into a tight frown, “grab what you absolutely need; Adrian will bring whatever else you need to my place.”

Sitting on the ground of his closet, he smiled to the blonde, “Thank you for letting me stay with you.”

“I’d rather have you stay with me than somewhere else,” he walked further into the closet, sitting beside the brunette. Combing hair behind an ear, “I’ll help you get your things.”

“Thank you,” he whispered, grabbing a picture he had of his parents, the glass broken. Setting it into his bag; he pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t believe this.”

Grabbing everything he need as well as what he could and stuffing inside a bag, he pointed out to Adrian everything else that wanted. After they had finished, he and Reita left. Going back to the blonde’s penthouse; his home for the time being, at least until they find Kyo. His Sunday had started out so perfect and now, it had all gone to hell in a hand basket.


	5. Affair V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but ti becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led int sweet temptation.

When they had arrived back to Reita’s penthouse, there were two detectives waiting to take his statement. And he had honestly did not want to go through the whole scenario and so, the blonde CEO  understanding of his current condition had sent them away, promising a statement from him later in the week. Another headache beginning to set in from the whirlwind of emotions, Ruki had gone up to the bedroom.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leaned over onto his knees, burying his face in his hands. The weekend had been too much for his mind to handle. First Kyo had just shown up out of the blue, expecting that they would just pick up where they had left off. And then the following day, his ex followed him to the coffee shop down the street from his apartment; and now, he had trashed his home and had apparently followed him and Reita. His ex had gone too far.

Hearing the steps of the blonde coming up the stairs, Ruki couldn’t bother in lifting his head when he heard him come to a stop. The creative director was mentally exhausted. Although, he was pleasantly surprised when the man had made his way towards the bed, sat behind him and began to massage his shoulders. The strong hands working out the muscles felt so blissful and Reita easing the stress away.

“I don’t want you to go to work tomorrow,” Reita finally spoke up. Leaning in to nuzzle the shorter behind the ear with a soft kiss, “I want you to take the day and get yourself together.”

Giving a roll of his eyes, he shook his head, “I’ll be fine to work.”

“I know you will be Ruki but,” the CEO replied sternly, pulling Ruki back into his chest. Brushing strands of hair aside with a sigh, “But, I would prefer if you took the day. Get settled in; wrap your mind around things. I’m not telling you to take the week off or to quit.”

Lashes fluttering open to gaze up at the man, Ruki grimaced. It was the tone the man spoke in; it was **_that_** tone of authority he used on the board of directors and it was tone that meant there would be no argument. And then, there was the current look he was giving him.

Another roll of his eyes, he smiled, “You’re not giving me a choice, are you Mr. Suzuki?”

“No, I’m not Mr. Matsmoto,” he returned the smile, “How could you tell?”

Biting the inside of his cheek, he joked, “It’s your ‘mom’ tone.”

Laughing out loudly at the remark, he pulled the body of Ruki down, pinning him against the mattress of the bed, “my mom tone, hm? If that’s how you’re going to be.”

Chuckling, he pulled the man down into a kiss with a groan. As Ruki gave it a thought, a day from his extremely stressful job would be nice. It would indeed let him get his head around the events and getting twenty four hours alone would be a nice plus.

Biting on his lip as they pulled away, he nodded, “fine, just the day.”

“That’s a good boy, I knew you’d see it my way,” Reita teased huskily. Hand tracing down the frame, giving the body goose bumps in its wake, “now, we’ll discuss your sleeping arrangement which I believe you’ll have no qualms about.”

Smirking, the man let his hand roam the broad chest, “and what did you have in mind?”

“Well, for starters,” he began in a husky breath. Ghosting his lips along jaw and down the neck of Ruki, nipping, “I want you to stay here with me, where I can have you when I want you.”

“I really don’t-” Ruki started, cutting off with a breathy moan as teeth bit the flesh of his neck, “o-okay.”

Shifting, Reita began to unbutton the shirt and as he went button by button, he teased the exposed flesh with light touches. Burying his nose into the soft locks, breathing in the scent as he kept his voice husky, keeping the body of the other on the edge of pleasure as added sternly, “I also don’t want you going anywhere alone.”

Eyes snapping open, Ruki pushed up onto an elbow with narrowed eyes, “nowhere by myself?”

Combing fingers through soft tresses, the blonde smiled, “it’ll be just until we find your friend.”

An annoyed growl worked its way out and he pushed Reita away, “Kyo isn’t a friend, he’s my **_ex_**.”

All teasing gone and Reita scowled, “your ex?”

“Yes, Kyo is my ex,” he confirmed. Running a hand through his hair, he growled, “We broke up right before I came to the states. Or to be more exact, **_he_** broke up with me; because I took the job offer right away.”

Lips pressing together tightly, Reita stared at the side of the face, “why is he here if you’re broken u?”

“He wanted to fix a relationship that can’t be fixed,” Ruki explained. “I told him he was wasting his time.”

“A lot of good that did,” Reita scoffed softly.

Bristling at the condescending tone, he cast a quick glare at the man before he stood and stormed off to the roof deck. Ruki wanted to be alone. He needed to time to think. Stalking off towards the wicker patio seating beneath the shade of trees and plopped down in frustration, he stared out over the city in thoughtfulness. Feelings welling up in his chest, he let his head drop into his hands, another oncoming headache.

Ruki didn’t know how long he had sat out there but, the minutes of silence were nice. After a handful of minutes did he hear the sound of the door opening and shutting. Inhaling deeply, he waited on the blonde to speak up, it not taking long.

“Ruki, I’m sorry,” the man apologized softly as he took a seat beside the other, “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

“Just leave me alone,” he groaned, not lifting his gaze. Shoulders tensing as an arm slipped around his waist and he was pulled into the chest, he snapped, “What part of ‘leave me alone’ don’t you get? I wanted to be left alone.”

“Apparently I don’t,” Reita murmured, kissing the nape of Ruki, “but, I am sorry I said that Ruki.”

Sighing, he found himself already forgiving the CEO as he leant back into the body, “I know, I just- I wish that he would have just left. I wish that none of it had come down to this.”

“Look, let’s not think about it anymore,” he ordered gently. Reaching up to brush some brunette hair to the side of the slender neck, he began to place soft kisses, nipping here and there, “We’ll worry about it later; I just want you to relax for the moment Ruki. You’re too tense for my liking right now.”

Cocking his head to see the other out the corner of his eyes, Ruki murmured in exasperation, “This isn’t exactly something I can relax about.”

Humming low in his chest, Reita slipped a hand beneath the shirt, caressing the skin of Ruki’s stomach with a sly smile. Biting on the base of the neck, he murmured huskily, “well then, I believe I can help you with that.”

Stomach fluttering at the suggestive tone, that wandering hand dipped teasingly in his pants before it was on his thigh, squeezing, Ruki let out a soft whimper. Gasping when that hand slowly moved towards his groin and then those skillful fingers danced lightly along the zipper of his pants. Head falling back onto the shoulder of Reita, he shuddered. Mind racing as Reita’s other hand slipped up his chest, neck and then, his head was turned to be kissed tenderly.

Sighing into the kiss to then only deepen it, Ruki slipped his tongue into the hot cavern; whimpering at the taste of the blonde. Twisting to lean more into the man, his body began to burn with desire as those strong hands groped him and then slipped beneath his shirt. Turning around completely onto his knees, he shoved Reita back against the armrest, straddling him quickly.

Kissing the blonde harder, he smiled as his ass was gripped firmly. Ruki was lifted and their positions were switched. Groaning at the firm throbbing arousal grinding into his clothed ass, he wrapped his legs around the waist of the blonde and his hands were all over Reita’s back.

Thrusting against the body, Reita groaned against swollen lips, “God, you’re so fucking sexy.”

Clawing with another thrust, the brunette gasped, “yeah?”

“Yes; God fucking yes,” growling, he tugged the shirt off the other, tossing the article somewhere over his shoulder. Swiftly leaning in to take one of Ruki’s nipples into his mouth, taking great pleasure in the sounds, the way his body reacted.

Arching off the couch with a soft mewl, fingers combed through the blonde hair, pulling as his nipple was toyed with. That hot mouth was working numbers on his body, hands forcing goose bumps and tremors all over his body. Body quaking harder as the mouth trailed lower down his stomach and hands began to deftly undo his pants.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous,” Reita continued biting and sucking everywhere he could reach. He made sure to leave dark marks in the wake of his touches, “so damned beautiful.”

Entire body flushing at words spoken so ardently, Ruki sat up and kissed those addicting lips. Moving his mouth against the man’s, soft sounds of satisfaction escaping him. Kyo had never spoken to him this way; he’d never touched him this affectionately.

“Lift your hips,” Reita ordered huskily. The man beneath him responding right away, letting him tug the pair of pants off and toss it away like the shirt, pressing more kisses to the smooth stomach.

Fingers trailing down the smooth toned chest and stomach of the CEO, Ruki tilted his head while biting his lip. He could see the desire flare in the brown eyes, knowing he had just turned the man on greatly. The man had a weakness for his lip biting. It giving him just the right amount of time to slip his hand into the jeans and take Reita in his hands; stroking him firmly and slowly.

Groaning deep in his throat, Reita leisurely thrust into the hand as he began to suck harshly on the side of the exposed neck, chuckling, “eager, aren’t we?”

Humming, Ruki undid Reita’s jeans quickly and shoved the pants down. Yanking the blonde for fiery kiss, he suddenly suck in the other’s bottom lip with a mischievous look, “Well, I’ve get you for one more night, so; why not make the most of it.”

“I like your thinking,” he smirked. Sucking on his fingers and coating them with saliva as fast as he could, Reita pushed two fingers in.

Keening in shock and delight, Ruki took no time in moving against the fingers, the feel of the blonde stretching him blindingly good. Oh yeah, he was going to enjoy this until he has to return to his job. He had this man to himself for a whole day and he wasn’t about to waste it, not before returning to reality.

Easing into the willing body, Reita growled. The tight heat of the brunette felt like something he could never get enough of. Keeping still, he pressed more kisses over the exposed chest of Ruki, to a pierced ear, voice hoarse, “so, what are your favorite positions?”

“I-I don’t-” Ruki stuttered, blushing brightly.

“Well then,” he chuckled, brushing dark hair back. Rolling his hips, eliciting the dirtiest of moans from Ruki, Reita lifted one of the legs onto his shoulder, “guess we’ll just have to do something about that.”

“Mr. Suzuki,” Adrian walked out onto the deck, stopping in his tracks and blushing brightly, “O-oh, excuse me, s-sirs.” Turning and making a speedy retreat as the two men gazed after the retreating man, the CEO tried resume as if nothing had happened.

Ruki pushed Reita off forcefully, sitting up stiffly, embarrassed beyond belief. Pointing to his clothes, he kept his eyes averted, “hand me my pants.”

“Seriously?” the blonde gawked.

“Yeah, could you please give me my pants?” he asked again.

“Not into voyeurism, are we?” the man tried joking.

Sighing at the glare, Reita fixed his pants, arousal still prominent; he stood to grab the clothes off the ground and handed it off to the man. Shutting his eyes, he scratched the back of his neck, “I’ll go see what Adrian needed.”

Pulling his pants up, Ruki nodded, “You do that. I’m going to go take a shower.”

The blonde stood rooted to his spot for a minute longer, gazing at Ruki with an unreadable expression before he went in. Sitting back down, burying his face back into the palms of his hands; he was mortified with being caught with his pants down, literally.

Taking one more calming breath, he stood; snatched his shirt up and went back to the bedroom. He could hear Reita speaking to Adrian just below the bedroom but, he didn’t care to make out what they were talking about. Instead, he found the towels and went into the huge bathroom, with the huge shower.

Chucking his pants off, he stepped into the shower, turned the water on full blast. Stepping beneath the hot stream, he moaned in bliss; the spray easing away all the tension. It felt absolutely heavenly, spending nearly forty minutes beneath the water without a care.

Drying his hair off as he sat on the edge of the bed, he heard his boss walk into the room; leaning against the wall. Sensing that the man wanted to tell him something, he sighed, “What is it now?”

Opening his mouth slightly to speak, he paused; shaking his head with a smile. “Dinner’s ready.”

Blinking at the man’s hesitation, he nodded, “okay, just give me a minute.”

“Okay,” Reita hummed, stopping a moment before going down stairs.

When Ruki had gotten down to the dining room, a plate had been set out for him but the man was nowhere in sight. Biting his lip, he peeked into the living room and no one; he was alone. Shoulders falling, he turned to the food took a seat and began to eat slowly.

Being all alone had let his mind wander. There was no way he could possibly sleep in the same bed as the blonde. It had all gone too far. Ruki had slept with the CEO and owner of the company. A man who work floors above him; it was completely unethical.

Finishing his dinner, he stood and went to begin washing them; Reita startling him; “You don’t need to do that, Janice will take care of it in the morning.”

“Where were you?” he asked, ignoring what the blonde had said.

“In my studies,” he answered, walking around the counter, he pinned the brunette up against the counter quickly. Kissing him along the neck, he groaned, “Wanna pick up where we left off?”

“No,” Ruki frowned, pushing the man off of him. Walking out of the kitchen, he went out to the veranda, taking a seat and gazed out over the city.

Sitting outside in the cool night air was what was needed to think. Lounging outside and just gazing out at the cityscape, Ruki began to doze. The warm sea breeze air reminding him of home, reminding him of what he had left behind, it also reminded him of the abusive relationship he had.

“Ruki, why don’t you come to bed,” Reita walked out.

Licking his lips, he shook his head quickly, “I want to sleep somewhere else. Don’t you have a guest bedroom?”

Reita nodded, “Yeah, I do, but, I-” Stopping, he stared at the side of the man’s face, “Ruki, what’s wrong?”

“I just need to be alone,” he sighed exasperated.

Kneeling in front of the brunette, he took a hand in his own; Reita questioned gently, “what did I do wrong, Ruki?”

“Nothing, can we just go to bed?”

“Alright,” he stood and tugged Ruki off his seat. Kissing the fingers, “I’ll show you to the guestroom if that’s what you really want.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Stretching over the bed, the cool cotton sheets feeling nice on his skin, Ruki sat up; squinting at the morning light coming through the window. Blinking away the nights rest, he swung his legs over the bed. Rubbing his neck out of the stiffness, Ruki rolled his shoulders. He had slept horribly.

Padding out into the hallway, he stopped to listen for anyone else in the home but nothing. Walking into the kitchen for coffee, he searched through the cupboards for a mug. Turning around, he jumped when he found a woman standing there smiling at him.

“I’m sorry to have startled you; you must be Mr. Matsumoto,” she smiled forcedly.

Getting his heartbeat under controlled, he smiled, “G’morning, Janice was it?”

“Yes,” she replied shortly, brushing past the man.

Blinking at the slight attitude, he hadn’t missed how attractive she was. The housekeeper had shoulder length hair, fair skin and bright hazel eyes. The air she gave off though, it made Ruki grimace, because h was dealing with an extremely jealous woman. Deciding to ignore it, he turned and poured himself a cup of coffee. Going around the counter to be out her way, he sat on a nearby stool, watching as she bustled about to make a breakfast for the CEO.

Unappreciative of the cold shoulder after several minutes, he cleared his throat, “Where is Mr. Suzuki?”

“Akira is in his studies,” she answered indifferently.

Rolling his eyes, he spoke up in irritation, “and where is his studies, Janice?”

Turning to the brunette, she replied coldly, “its right down the hall.”

Restraining a growl at the incessant attitude, he momentarily wondered when this affair had began but deciding that it was a migraine not worth having. Standing without a word, he went in search of the blonde’s study room. Peeking through one doorway that led to the stairs, he continued further to the next doorway, finding Reita leaning up against his desk, cell in hand.

“No, Mr. Matsumoto will not be in today,” he spoke in that tone. Pausing as the other person spoke, the blonde took the cell between his neck and shoulder, “Just have it emailed to him and he will go over it. I have given him the day off.”

Leaning against the frame, Ruki kept quiet to continue eavesdropping.

“Mr. Matheson, I have everything taken care of; he’ll have my housekeeper as well as a personal bodyguard with him at all times while the situation is dealt with. There will be no need for that.”

As he listened to the one sided conversation, Reita speaking of the housekeeper made him bristle in anger. It made him wonder how many others there were. On top of that, it made him absolutely feel ridiculous for giving into temptation.

“So, I want you to inform security of the situation and to keep an eye out for anyone or anything suspicious,” stopping as the editor and chief spoke, Reita nodded, “Good, I will be in about half an hour. Make sure to let everyone know that a meeting will be taking place as soon as I get there.”

As the call came to an end, he spoke up heatedly, “So, do you fuck **_all_** your employees?”

Jumping at the voice, Reita turned, “what?”

“You heard me,” he snapped. Seeing the way he tried to brush off his shock, Ruki rolled his eyes, “I want to stay somewhere else.”

Quickly setting his cell down, he tried to explain, “Ruki, it isn’t-”

“Quite frankly, I don’t care,” he cut the man off, feeling angrier by the moment. Taking a breath to remain calm, he hissed, “I have not by impressed by anything you’ve done for me Reita. We both knew this was a onetime affair, no point in prolonging it.”

“Ruki, just hold on-”

“I told you, ‘I don’t care’,” he snapped one more time, “and I am going to work today.”

Rushing across the floor, he took the brunette by the arm, growling, “Ruki, I real-”

“I swear to God, let go of me,” Ruki growled right back, yanking his arm away. Taking a huge step back from the blonde with a heated glare, “first off, I am no piece of ass you can toy with when you feel all hot and bothered. Besides, I’m pretty sure that’s why you have **_her_** on the payroll.”

Seeing the flicker in the brown eyes, Ruki gave a disbelieving shake of his head. Turning on his heels, he quickly went back to his room, changed, packed his things and went out to the foyer with his bag.

“Good morning Mr. Matsumoto,” Adrian greeted brightly only for a look of uneasiness to appear at the sight of the suitcase.

He smiled, “I’ll be going to look for another place to stay and then to work.”

The man blinked, before nodding, “Yes sir. Would you like me to take your bag to the car?”

“No,” Reita snapped.

Ignoring the blonde, Ruki nodded at the man, “I’d appreciate that.” Handing the bag over, Adrian turned and went outside.

“Ruki,” Reita began frustrated as soon as the man left, running hands through his hair, “please, don’t go.”

“Why should I stay?”

“Because, I don’t want you to go,” Reita answered honestly.

“Too fucking bad,” Ruki snapped. Turning to walk out he was grabbed and thrown over the man’s shoulder; he snarled, “Put me down!”

Reita didn’t answer as he strode through the house, past a very shocked housekeeper and up to the bedroom. Tossing the brunette onto the bed and not giving him the chance to run or say anything, he kissed Ruki harshly. The younger man doing everything he could to fight him off but Reita wouldn’t let him as he pinned the wrists down with one hand. Reaching down, he popped the button out of its hole, tugged the pants off the slim waist.

“Get off me,” Ruki gasped.

He had found the treatment extremely arousing; being carried and thrown onto the bed so roughly. The hand on his wrists restrained him with ease and then, the hand working his arousal roughly making him absolutely crazy. Arching off the bed, he gasped, teeth biting into his neck.

Swallowing a cry of pleasure, he whimpered, “Get off of me, Reita.”

“No,” he pants, voice rough and low; immediately tugging his own pants down.

“Reita… please,” he moaned again; only this time, he was pleading to be filled. Gasping out as a slick finger pushed into him, then a second and then a third; and when he was stretched, Reita pushed into him.

The blonde wasted no time in moving inside of Ruki, holding the thigh tightly, he growled against the chest of the man. His hips moving earnestly against Ruki, lips finding the brunette’s, groaning against the mouth. Pushing into the body passionately, swallowing the sweet moans, the pleasured, muffled screams of euphoria.

“Reita,” Ruki breathed, clinging onto the body tightly as soon as he was released.

Bodies moving feverishly against each other, Reita’s lustful growls and grunts, along with Ruki’s cries and moans of pleasure filled the room. Soft pleas of the brunette begging for the blonde to go harder, to go faster, to be rougher; he begged for release. He rolled the blonde onto his back, riding him hard. Both meeting each other thrust for thrust.

“Reita,” he cried, rolling his hips.

“Fuck,” Reita growled, sitting up he kissed him again.

The blissful pleasure began to radiate form deep inside of him as he kept going. The man flexing his hips just right, that the bundle of nerves were struck deep inside of him; making Ruki shudder all over. He moved faster, more desperately, nails digging into the shoulders of Reita; he screamed out his orgasm.

“That’s right baby,” he groaned. Going rigid as his own climax reached its peak and he came inside of Ruki with a sultry growls; panting heavily as his forehead fell against the shoulder of the brunette.

Slumping against the blonde, Ruki sat in the lap of Reita catching his breath. He hadn’t felt that much pleasure than he had felt their first night together. Slowly clambering off the lap, he collapsed atop the bed on his stomach, feeling the shifting of bed and then, the tender kisses being placed all over his shoulder. His eyes slid shut and he sighed.

“Stay,” Reita murmured, lips outlining the curve of Ruki’s shoulder blade, “Don’t go.”

Releasing a huge sigh, he demanded, “Why?”

“I don’t want you to,” he laid next to Ruki, pulling him close, “I don’t know what it is but I don’t want you to leave.”

Chortling, Ruki sat up, “I can’t exactly stay.”

“I’ll fire her,” Reita quickly replied. Sitting up and cradling his lovers face, “I’ll do anything to keep you here.”

Mouth falling open slightly with such a powerful confession, Ruki gazed wide-eyed into usually intense fawn eyes, seeing something unnatural. Licking his lips, he fumbled with his words, “I-I couldn’t… I can’t ask you to do that to that woman.”

“What do I got to do to make you stay then?” he asked almost desperately.

Biting on his lip as he began to resituate his clothes, Ruki questioned slyly, “Anything?”

It was Thursday. Leaning back in his office chair, Ruki popped his neck. He was happy to be back in his office, having taken the day off days before and Janice still had her job. He had convinced Reita to let him keep a room for himself, let himself cook and clean for himself and for the blonde to keep away from him for the week; which Ruki saw the man was having a hard time with.

They lived together, worked in the same office, so, it was like they were attached at the hip. Ruki didn’t like that one bit. He was so used to being independent and now, he had a person here who had said they’d ‘ ** _do anything’_** for him. Those weren’t words he was used to.

“Mr. Matsumoto,” Jessica knocked on the door smiling.

“Yes, Jessica,” he answered, never looking up from his computer.

“Mr. Suzuki would like to you see you in his office.”

Continuing to clack on the keyboard, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, a quick glance to the woman, “would you tell him I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Of course,” she nodded, going back to her desk.

Rubbing his temple, Ruki went back to working; immediately losing track of time. His desk phone rang and it had startled him. Quickly picking it up and holding it between his head and shoulder, “Creative Designer, Takanori Matsumoto.”

“ _Where the hell are you_ ,” Reita snapped. “ _I needed to see you in my office thirty minutes ago_.”

“Shit,” Ruki cursed under his breath, he pinched his nose, “I’m sorry, Mr. Suzuki. I had lost track of time. I’ll be right there.”

“ _Hurry up_.”

Rolling his eyes at the tone, he hung the phone up, saved the documents on his computer and stood. He smiled to his assistant, “I’m going up to Mr. Suzuki’s office. I transferred all my calls to you.”

“Okay,” she smiled, fingers clicking across her keyboard.

Getting on the elevator and going a few floors up, he smiled to a man who had got on after he got off; he went straight to the CEO’s office. Knocking on the door, waiting to be invited in, receiving the muffled call, he stepped through to find the blonde looking extremely pissed. Pursing his lips, he took a seat across from the man.

“What did you need to see me for?”

“I can’t do this,” he replied.

Brows furrowing, Ruki asked stupidly, “Do what?”

Glaring at the brunette he tried to refrain from snarling, “You know exactly what. This isn’t working for me.”

“Are you fucking kidding me,” he gaped. Shaking his head, he stood to go for the door, “Is that all you called me up here for? Jesus, I’ve got work to do. I’m leaving.”

Pushing out of his chair and darting around his desk, Reita grabbed Ruki. Kissing him harshly, voice husky, “I can’t keep away from you. Why would you torture me this way?”

“It’s not torture,” Ruki pulled back. “You’re my boss Reita; I don’t want to be seen as someone who is trying to screw their way to the top.”

“We can do something about that,” the blonde whispered between kisses. “I just don’t want to go another day without being able to touch you.”

Gasping as particular kiss was placed right below his ear, Ruki sighed, “we do this my way then.”

“I’ll do whatever you want,” Reita kept whispered, kissing his way down the neck.

Pushing back on the blonde’s shoulders, he cocked a brow “no more of **_this_** in the office.”

Blinking, Reita opened his mouth to argue, stopping when he saw the determined look. He rubbed his neck with laugh, taking a step back, “alright. No more in the office, I promise.”

“Good,” Ruki fixed his suit, “we’ll discuss everything tonight; I need to get to work; as well as you Mr. Suzuki.”

Chuckling, the blonde gave a mock salute, “Aye aye sir.”

“Nobody likes a wise ass,” he scolded with a roll his eyes, walking out of Reita’s office. Falling against the other side of the shut door, he shook his head, “What the hell am I doing?”


	6. Affair VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

It was going on weeks since he had given up on denying what he wanted and began the affair with his boss. Ruki established it to be very hard to keep his hands to himself every time they were in the same room. Just seeing the man wearing those perfect fitting suits, being so commanding and sharp; it was a fantasy come true. The constant teasing of each other every day drove him insane and he knew it had the same effect on the blonde; because, once they were behind closed doors, it was just to the two of them.

They would have sex half the night, Ruki would beg for more. He would scream for it. He couldn’t understand what it was about Reita that had him going back for more, asking for more of what the man could offer. But, behind closed doors, it didn’t matter.

Sitting on the edge of the bed as he tied his shoes, his boss having already gotten ready and waiting on him downstairs; he tried to hurry. They were late; **_again_**.

It being what seemed like the tenth time this month. Ruki knew they needed to do something about it. It was bad enough they were going into work together and they were able to get away with it but now, since he’s been walking funny with all their nightly extracurricular activities; he could see that more than a few people were getting a little suspicious.

Going up to the full length mirror, giving himself a look over, he left the bedroom. Descending the stairs, he could hear Reita talking to someone; immediately he realized it was Janice. They were both speaking in hush tones. He stopped abruptly at the bottom of stairs.

“No, this is over,” Reita hissed. “We are done.”

Janice scoffed, “Oh c’mon, we both know in another week, you’ll be over your new toy. So, c’mon, baby, let’s have a little fun.”

“Get off of me,” the man growled, there was some shuffling, a faint shuddering of dishes; “I fucking said no Janice, stop it already. It’s not happening. It will never happen again.”

“Why, because of **_him_**? You do realize he’s only **_using_** you to climb the social ladder.”

“Get out.” Reita snapped. “Get the fuck out.”

“I’m only speaking the truth,” she sneered.

Having enough of the woman talking shit about him, Ruki strolled into the kitchen, arms crossed over his chest. Immediately the CEO and housekeeper broke apart but he had daggers set on the woman, “If we’re gonna compare, I’d like to say this, at least I didn’t have to **_sleep_** my way into being the **_help_** , Janice.”

The woman’s face went a bright red and Reita had paled. Cocking a brow when the blonde stepped around the woman to stand beside him, he feigned a dramatic sigh, “But then again, what do I know. I not only went to school for a bachelors degree in fine arts, graphic design and have seven years of experience; let’s not forget I had **_slept_** my way into becoming **_the_** Creative Director for the magazine. Oh good God, what do I know.”

The woman flushed brighter at the sardonic words, looking to Reita as if wanting help but he merely gazed at her. Turning back to Ruki she lowered her head, “I quit.”

“Good,” Reita snapped, turning.

Watching the woman quickly grab her things, Ruki turned back to the blonde; shaking his head as if scolding, “This is one of those ‘ ** _I told you so_** ’ kinds of moments.”

Cocking a brow as he looked back to the brunette, Reita lowered his voice, “are you trying to be a smart ass with me, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of it,” he rolled his eyes, going towards the coffee machine.

“I suppose I knew it was coming,” the man sighed, massaging his temples.

“Yeah, I think we both did,” Ruki snorted, offering one of the cups of coffee to the blonde. He leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on the chin, “better late than never.”

“Should have been **_never_** ,” Reita admitted in defeat, staring into the cup.

Rolling his eyes again, Ruki took the cup from the man, set it on the counter. Pulling him down for a slow kiss, moaning as hands slipped from his waist, to his hips and then to squeeze his butt. Pulling away, he smiled, “yeah well, can’t do anything about it now.”

“True.”

“Now hurry up,” Ruki slapped him on the shoulder, gulping down his cup, “We’re late, **_again_**. I am getting tired of being an hour late to work. This is not the kind of image we should be setting for the staff.”

“You can’t just blame this on me, babe,” Reita smirked, spanking the man, “maybe you should quit begging for more.”

Punching the blonde hard on the shoulder, he hissed, “shut up.”

The blonde yanked the man to him, pinned him against the counter, voice lustful and husky, “why don’t you make me.”

Rushing into his office quickly, fixing and smoothing out his attire after his and Reita’s quickie in the back of the SUV on their way, he came to an abrupt stop. There was a vase of about two dozen red roses on his desk. Frowning, he turned to his assistant, “Ms. Ackles, where did the flowers come from?”

“They were delivered this morning, Mr. Matsumoto,” she answered. Getting up, she followed Ruki into the office, “I didn’t know that that particular shop delivered flowers so early in the morning.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“The delivery guy had been waiting outside at eight o’clock this morning,” she giggled, leaning in to smell the fragrance of roses. Finger playing along one of the roses, “they’re absolutely beautiful; must of cost the person a pretty little penny to have them delivered so bright and early.”

“There isn’t a card,” he scowled. Looking back through to find the small little card; not finding it, he toyed with one of the rose petals, “that’s strange.”

“Hey, Ru-” Reita walked in, stopping when he saw the flowers. He frowned, “where did those come from?”

“It doesn’t say,” Ruki answered. Picking them up, he set them on the table off to the side, he smiled to the CEO, “what do you need Mr. Suzuki?”

“Can you give us a minute, Ms. Ackles,” he smiled politely to the woman, who nodded and left, shutting the door behind her. Gaze going towards the vase of flowers, fawn eyes stared at the vase suspiciously as he took a seat.

Seeing the gaze, Ruki laughed, “They’re just roses, what harm can a few dozen of roses do?” sitting behind his desk and starting up the computer, he repeated himself, “what did you need Reita?”

“We got a few leads on Kyo,” he said, tearing his gaze away from the roses.  Tilting his head, he questioned seriously, “You really don’t know who those came from?”

“No, I don’t Reita,” Ruki sighed, rubbing his temples. He really didn’t want to fight with the blondes jealousy and control freak issues; he just wanted to get his job done. Typing his password in, changing the subject, “okay, so what leads do you have on Kyo?”

“One of the detectives I hired thinks he may have spotted him on some security camera,” he sighed, pulling a picture out from a folder; sliding it across the desk, “he wants me to get confirmation from you, since you know how Kyo looks.”

Nodding, he leaned forward and took the picture. He gazed over the black and grey photo; an involuntarily shiver going up his spine, “Yeah, that’s Kyo.”

“You’re absolutely positive?”

“Yes, that’s him,” Ruki nodded, pointing to photo, “I recognize the tattoo on his neck.”

“Are you sure that-”

“I recognize it because I’m the one who drew the picture for it,” he murmured shakily.

“Okay,” Reita kept his voice leveled. Standing and going around the desk, he took the picture, laid it face down so Ruki couldn’t see it. Kneeling, he tugged Ruki for a kiss, pulling back, “I’ll let the detective know right away. But-”

“ ** _When_** and **_where_** was that picture taken?”

Swallowing, he contemplated on lying to Ruki but Reita knew he’d either find out or know that he was lying to him. Lightly caressing the side of the man’s face, he licked his lips, “it was taken earlier this morning, about a block down the street.”

Taking a deep breath to keep himself calm, he asked, “So, he knows where I work; you don’t think he knows where you live, do you?”

“No, there’s no way he’d know, only a small handful of people know,” Reita stood, still lightly running his fingers over the smooth face. Leaning down, he pressed a quick soothing kiss to Ruki’s forehead, “I don’t want you leaving the building at all today, alright.”

Usually Ruki would argue when Reita said things like that but this time, he felt he should listen to the man for once. Nodding, he pulled him back for another kiss. Shivering as fingers tickled his neck, he pulled away; gazing worriedly into fawn eyes, “You aren’t going anywhere, are you?”

“No, I’ll stay in the building just like you,” he assured, combing back some hair. Stealing one more kiss, he smiled, “I’ll bring you lunch.”

“Okay,” he murmured.

The morning had gone quickly for Ruki as he worked nonstop to keep his mind off the situation that Kyo possibly knew where he worked. It was a very horrifying thought. Another horrifying thought was that the roses that sat harmlessly on the table seemed to be staring at him menacingly; the sudden thought they could be from Kyo.

Standing and snatching the vase, he went to his assistant, “Hey, Jessica, do you think you could get rid of these for me?”

The woman blinked for a moment, shocked. Standing from her seat, she asked, “Are you sure? I mean, whoever sent them must-”

“I’m sure,” he cut her off politely.

She immediately took the bouquet away, while Ruki decided he needed a bathroom break and went towards the restrooms. Smiling to a few of his colleagues as he opened the door, not noticing that a person was trailing after him; he quickly did his business because Reita would be arriving in his office any moment with their lunch.

Going to the sink, he washed his hands quickly; fixed his suit and hair, he turned only to jump back with alarm as he found Kyo leaned up against the door. Putting a hand to his rapidly beating heart, he tried to stay calm, “Kyo, what are you doing here; how did you even get into the building?”

“I just came to have a word with you, love,” he answered softly. His hand going into his pocket, taking hold of an item, “Just a small frank conversation or are you **_too_** busy?”

Swallowing uneasily, Ruki did his best to play calm by frowning, “Kyo, this is enough. Am I really worth all the trouble you’ve already caused for yourself? I mean seriously, after what you did to my apartment, **_you_** are in a lot of trouble.”

The man tilted his head in thought, before a slow cynical smirk curled on his lips, “Oh yes, you’re worth it and that was why I was pissed about you going off with that bastard. Yes, I’m stilled pissed that you’re with the guy-”

“Seriously, Kyo,” his voice shook, seeing the man push off the door, “this isn’t funny. You’re in a lot of trouble, so, just stop it.”

“No, not until you admit that we worked,” Kyo’s voice lowered. “All you have to do is admit it. All you need to do is tell me that you still love me.”

“What, no!” Taking a step back, Ruki shook his head, “no, we didn’t work and no, I don’t love you, Kyo.”

“How can you say that,” he snapped, making Ruki jump at the force of his voice. “How can you say we didn’t work? Ruki, we were perfect for each other. I fucking apologized to you; I admit that I overreacted when you took this offer but damn it, we were perfect together.”

“No we fucking weren’t,” he snapped.

“What is so fucking special about that piece of shit you’re seeing now?” the man demanded, slamming a fist against the door. Expression scrunching up with barely contained rage, “are you seriously trying to fuck your way up the ladder? Is that why-”

Shaking his head in disbelief, the brunette cut the man off, utterly infuriated, “are fucking serious Kyo? Is that all you can think about? You honestly think I’m that type of person?”

“Yeah, I really, honestly believe that you’ve always been a little whore loving cum swallower.”

Ruki knew that he should stay calm in this situation but he was getting pissed off by the second. The brunette was absolutely livid, “Oh, you want to talk; you are an abusive cock sucker. You put me in the fucking hospital two months before I left with a fractured collar bone and a concussion. How that hell does that make us work?”

“I fucking told you I was sorry.”

“You’re sorry put me back in the hospital, one week after I got out,” Ruki snarled, feeling cornered and angry by what the man was saying. He held up three fingers as he screamed out in anger, “three fractured ribs! So no, I can’t say we worked.”

“Ruki, please,” the man begged, reaching out to grab him.

Jumping away immediately, shaking his head, “no. I’m not doing it again. I’ve given you one too many chances Kyo; I’m done. I’m done with you and your crazy bullshit.”

The man’s face contorted with rage as he leapt towards the brunette; quickly he darted out of the way only to slip and hit the floor hard. Kyo had slammed into the bathroom stall and then hit the toilet, Ruki turned for the door just as Kyo scrambled to his knees. A hand shot out, grabbing his ankle and he slammed back to the floor.

Barely managing a gasp as hands suddenly encircled his throat, cutting off his airway. Quick thinking, Ruki formed a fist and punched his ex in the side of his neck. The action shocked Kyo just enough for him to kick the other back into the stall. Quickly he slammed the door for the cubicle and just as Kyo yanked it back open, he surprised him with another fist. This time, he caught him in the temple, sending his ex to the floor. Running for the bathroom door out into the hallway, he ran smack dab into Reita, who quickly caught him before he fell on his ass.

“Ruki, what is-”

“Kyo’s in there,” he pointed towards the bathroom.

Reita looked at the door, shoving Ruki in the direction of his office, he ordered, “Go call security **_now_** and stay there.”

Looking between the door and Reita, he tried to argue, “What, Reita, we should just call-”

“I said go!” the blond snapped right back.

Taking one look to the closed door, he bolted towards his office; picking the phone up immediately and calling security. Trying to keep calm as he told them what floor and where to go. He sat on the couch in his office, shaking from the adrenaline. The man had definitely gone way too far for his liking.

Staring at the door for what seemed like hours, he was startled when it opened and Reita came in; rushing towards him with worry. Quickly the blonde looked him over and as he tilted his chin, he saw the redness around his lover’s neck. A look of fury, he growled, “What happened?”

“He cornered me in there,” he tried to speak steadily but it was hard from the adrenaline. Licking his lips, he gazed at his hands, “he cornered me and I think- I think he had something on him, I’m not sure. I fought him a bit, he tried choking me out.”

“That fucker,” the CEO hissed. Taking a deep breath, he gently caressed the other’s neck, “it’ll bruise but, it doesn’t look too bad.”

“Well, I really don’t need to say it since you got a good look at him,” Ruki tried to make a joke out of the situation, wincing at the sudden soreness. “But, I did manage to knock his ass out cold.”

Placing a hand atop the other, Reita kissed the brunette desperately; sighing with relief, “Yeah you did; I’m glad that you’re okay.”

“So where is he now; how the hell did he even get in the building without someone seeing him?”

“Security has him in cuffs, they took him down to one of the holding rooms until the authorities get here,” Reita replied, combing his fingers through the soft silk hair. Kissing him again, he lifted the chin up gently, taking one more look at the neck, “baby, are you sure you’re alright?”

Nodding, he looked into brown eyes, “yes, I’m fine. It looks a lot worse than it actually is, Reita.” Licking his lips, Ruki repeated his question, “how the hell did he get in the building?”

“My bet is on one of the stairwells leading up from the parking garages; but then again,” the man sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked back up into the anxious face of Ruki, “don’t worry about it now, baby. We’ve got him and he’ll be charged, sent back to Japan and never be allowed back into the states.”

“You’re an idiot,” Ruki suddenly scolded, shoving the blonde.

Blinking at the sudden statement, he frowned, “Why am I suddenly an idiot?”

“I know what you had planned on doing,” Ruki glared. He wanted to hate Reita for trying to be some hero but he was really mostly worried that Kyo could have really hurt him; that his ex could have had a weapon.

“I’m fine, aren’t I,” the blonde smiled.

“It’s not the point,” he snapped, burying his face into the chest; holding on tightly. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” he hushed.

“You ever do something so fucking stupid again,” Ruki began, words muffled by the chest, “I’m going to kick your ass.”

Not being able to stop the snort and receiving a quick punch to his stomach, Reita spoke in defeat, “I believe you too and I promise I won’t do something like that again.”

“Damn straight you won’t.”

Going through the motions of doing a play by play to the cops, Ruki was so ready to call it a day; he was exhausted. The adrenaline had worn him out. The entire building was a crime scene as the authorities did their job; the whole nine yard. Slumping back in his seat, he shut his eyes, he could still hear the police outside his office; he had needed a moment wrap his head around things.

“Ruki,” Reita walked in, shutting the door, “let’s get you home.”

Opening his eyes, he looked at his boss; his lover. Smiling tiredly, he nodded, “I’d like that.”

Walking over to help the man gather his belongings, Reita led them out and through the circus of men dressed in uniforms. Stopping to speak with one of the other supervisors for a moment, before getting on the elevator and going down to the waiting car.

Leaning against the wall of the elevator, Ruki yawned, “I could sleep for days.”

“I’m sure you could, you little ass kicker,” the man laughed, taking the hand and leading him across the lobby; stopping abruptly. “Shit.”

Looking up, Ruki’s jaw dropped. There were reporters everywhere. Security and even police officers holding them back from the building. He looked to Reita, “We are **_not_** going through **_that_** mob of fanatics.”

Digging out his phone, Reita called their driver, “Jason, I’m going to need you to go to the garage; we’ll meet you there.” Hanging up, he tugged the brunette back towards the elevator, “c’mon.”

That’s how it was for the next few weeks, always a journalist waiting to jump either him or Reita, since it was his company. Ruki hated that he had to sneak in and out like criminal. Although, he was exceptionally happy that none of those hungry maniacal journalists knew where Reita’s penthouse was; it was the one peaceful place. It was a place that let them be behind closed doors.

Keening softly as Reita worked his arousal into him, Ruki clawed at the back desperately, the powerful thrusts leading him to the brink of insanity. Not even a minute before they had stepped through the door, the blonde had pounced on him; hungry and needy. And he couldn’t deny that he felt the same.

Clinging for dear life, he released another soft keen; moving against his lover in perfect rhythm, crying out in desperation, “Reita.”

Ever since that day, Ruki had felt like he was constantly craving for Reita’s touch. He had even broken his one rule, which was to never act upon urges in the office. He had seduced the blonde easily into fucking him inside the office; being taken over the desk. It had happened a few more times within the week.

Rolling them over, he began to ride the blonde slowly. Scratching down the chest; leaving welts in the wake of his nails. He leaned down for a kiss, tongues entangling sloppily; he moaned into the mouth as he rolled his hips, enjoying the carnal aroused growl. Entire body quivering at the sound as he kept moving; being rolled back over, he gazed up into Reita’s face.

“Harder,” he moaned. Immediately being granted the request clawing at the bed; whimpering, “Faster, baby.”

Crying out as the cock brushed against his nerves, making him arch off the bed slightly, angling his body just right so when Reita pushed in again; it hit his spot just right. Ruki released a heady moan.

“That’s right baby,” Reita groaned, voice raw and lustful. Reaching and taking the throbbing arousal of Ruki, stroking him in time with his movements, “that’s right, cum for me baby.”

Whimpering and mewling with such stimulation, he yanked the man down for one more opened mouth kiss. Moaning lowly when he came without warning, feeling Reita follow him into his pleasured oblivion, the man’s growl of release vibrating from the chest to his lips.

Moving leisurely inside until he felt completely drained, Reita looked into the brown eyes of Ruki; peppering kisses on the eyelids, he pulled out and collapsed beside him. Their breathing labored as the younger cuddled up to the other; sighing in bliss.

Tilting his head, kissing the sweaty forehead, Reita murmured adoringly, “I love you Ruki.”

Craning his neck to look up at the man, Ruki smiled, “I love you too.”

“Do you really?” Reita asked playfully, shifting onto his side, cradling the diamond shaped face.

Laughing, Ruki reached up twirling a strand of blonde hair around his finger, “do **_you_** really love me?”

“I do,” was the soft answer. “The only person I’ve ever loved and will ever love.”

Blushing with such a confession, the brunette bit his lips shyly. A thumb caressing over his cheek, chin being tilted so they could look each other in the eye; Reita leaned forward so his lips traced his cheek bone. Nose brushing lightly against eyelashes, he whispered even softer, “do you love me?”

Opening his eyes he hadn’t realized were closed, Ruki answered without a thought, “I do.”

Waking up in the arms of his lover, was one of the greatest feelings he had ever felt. It all felt too good to be true. Although, when he had reached out to touch Reita, it brought a bright smile to face. Climbing out of bed, Ruki went down to the kitchen to prepare their coffee and to get breakfast cooked. If anything, he enjoyed this the most. Quickly getting everything onto a tray, he took it back up to their room, his lover still snoring softly.

Chuckling at the sight, he set it on the edge of the bed and shook Reita’s shoulder, “c’mon, it’s time to get up.”

The man shook his head, burying his face into the pillow, “five more minutes.”

Laughing, Ruki decided to take a quick shower and getting dressed to give the other a bit more sleeping time. So when he had finished, he annoyed Reita until he finally got up; Ruki went to gather their paperwork up while the other got ready. Both going through the motion of every morning, before they got into the car and went for work; talking the entire way. Although, when it came time for them to go their separate ways, Reita was the clingiest; trying to find every excuse to stay in Ruki’s office.

Not even an hour of working, Jessica called him on his work phone. Answering the call on speaker phone, he kept writing, “Yes, Ms. Ackles.”

“You have a visitor here wanting to speak with you,” she answered cheerily.

Frowning, he quickly wondered if he had a meeting schedule but nothing came to mind. Sighing when he couldn’t remember, he resigned into seeing the visitor, “Show them in, please.”

“Yes sir.”

Hastily finishing writing, he set the pen down and stood to greet the person. Smiling as the woman motioned for a man in his late fifties to early sixties into the office, Ruki nodded, “Good morning, please, have seat, Mr-”

“Thank you,” the man cut him off tersely.

Taken back for a moment, he decided to brush it off, Ruki sat in his own chair, “I’m sorry but what is your name and how can-”

“My name isn’t of importance but there is something you can help me with,” he remarked coldly.

Blinking, he sat back in his own chair, “Well, what would you like me to help you with?”

“I would like for you to leave this company, **_immediately_**.” He demanded flatly.

Bristling, Ruki narrowed his eyes, disliking this immensely, “excuse me but who are you t-”

The elder man cut the younger man off, “I want you to stop seeing Akira, leave the company and the city, for that matter.”

“ ** _Excuse me_** ,” Ruki started appalled by the man. He shoved himself out of his chair, “I don’t know who you are, but, you can’t come in he-”

“I will not let you ruin my son’s image,” the man stood as well, expression furious, “I will not stand for him to be messing with some **_piece of ass_** and ruin his engagement.”

Losing his breath completely, he stared wide eyed at the older man. A large burning lump formed in his throat. Reita was engaged. The man in front of him; the CEO’s father was in front of him, telling him that his son was engaged.

“I want you out of his life,” the man continued. Pulling an envelope from inside of his suit, he slid it across to Ruki, “this will compensate for my sons indiscretions and for you to keep your mouth shut about this affair. This is over.”

The Creative Director didn’t know what to do as the man left his office, the sound of door shutting snapping him out of his shock. The sudden stinging of tears, an unpleasantly burning pain erupting in his chest; he slowly sat down. Reita was engaged. Reita had been engaged the entire time.

Bottom lip trembling, he stared at the envelope through the tears. Slowly taking it and opening it; finding a check with a hefty sum written on it. Shoulders falling, Ruki felt like an utter idiot. He had let Reita make him feel like something was there; he had let the man toy with him. Standing, he took the check off the desk and went to Reita’s office. He was furious. The man had played a sick twisted game with his feelings; had fucking used him.

Shoving the door office door to make it slam against the wall, he snarled, “You fucking bastard!”

“What the fuck Ruki,” Reita snapped startled by the outburst.

“I should be telling you that,” he screamed, throwing the crumpled up check into the blondes face; he screamed again, “You must think I’m really fucking stupid, don’t you! This entire fucking time you’ve been lying to me! You’ve been toying with me like Janice fucking said!”

“Ruki, I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about,” he started as he took the paper and smoothed it out, Reita’s eyes widened. Looking up, gaping, he shook his head, “Ruki, I was going to tell you.”

“Oh really, when the hell did you plan on that?” he snarled, grabbing a magazine on the end table beside him and throwing it at Reita. “When the fuck did you plan on saying something! You’ve lied to me for months! I’m so fucking stupid for buying into all this shit! All the fucking bullshit you fed me and stupid fucking me believe it! I fucking believed that you actually loved me! I fucking believe you, Reita!”

“Ruki, please,” the blonde stood, going and taking him by the shoulders, “I really do love-”

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he shoved Reita back, “I fucking hate you.”

Reita’s expression became heartbroken and pained but he didn’t relent, he pleaded, “Ruki please, I do love you and I was going to -”

“You make me sick; I fucking hate you,” he snapped. Tears finally falling, Ruki punched the man hard, sending him to the floor. He spat, “consider that my resignation.”

Turning on his heels, he stormed back to his office, ignoring the worried looks of coworker he grabbed his personal things and left. Calling Adrian to take him back to the penthouse so he could grab clothes, he was going to do what Reita’s father said and leave the city.


	7. Affair VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Temptation is nearly coming up on its end for the first part of the series. And rather than doing each chapter a little at a time, here are four chapters for you, since I had disappeared for awhile. Enjoy!

Brown eyes went over the fine prints on the papers in front of him. This particular project he had been working on for weeks, a project that the client had specifically requested he do. At first it had made him feel apprehensive that the person had requested him but, when he heard of the bonus he would be receiving for a job well done, he couldn’t refuse to accept.

Right now, he was finishing up the touches on the draft. The client had wanted an early morning meeting schedule because apparently, he was to make a trip to New York for a short time before returning back to Seattle for a holiday party. So Ruki needed to make sure that everything was absolutely perfect.

“Good morning Mr. Shiroyama,” he greeted brightly at the man that came strolling into his office. He bowed his head, while taking a hold of the offered hand, “please, have a seat.”

“Thank you,” the black haired man smiled, taking a seat. “And you are Mr. Matsumoto, correct. I’ve heard many of great things about you; I’ve been told you have a very sharp mind. So I’m extremely pleased to finally make your acquaintance.”

Smiling, Ruki pulled out a folder and handed it over to the man, “this is just a quick draw up of what we had discussed over the phone. Don’t worry, we can always change the layout if you’d like or anything for that matter.”

Watching as the other Japanese man looked through the folder, making soft hums. Ruki gazed out to the bright blue sky; it had been six months since he had left Los Angeles. Nearly an entire year since he began living in the states. He left from California to Seattle, Washington. He now worked for a much smaller publishing company.

“I like it,” the man nodded, handing the folder back to the brunette.

“Good,” Ruki quickly returned to the present. Shuffling the papers a bit, he wrote a quick note, “Now that I’ve got your approval, I’ll have our team begin immediate work.”

“That sounds like plan,” he smirked, leaning forward. “So, Mr. Matsumoto, would you like to have dinner with me maybe a few drinks?”

Filing away the papers, Ruki fluttered his eyes, “I’m sorry Mr. Shiroyama but I’m not allowed to-”

“Think of it as a business date,” the man offered.                       

Biting the inside of his cheek, he thought it over. It had been six months since he had tried seeking the company of another. Looking back up, he nodded faintly, “I don’t think there will be problem if we had a few drinks as a business date. As long as that how it stays, Mr. Shiroyama.”

“Of course,” the man smiled, he stood with his hand held out for the others. Taking it and kissing the tips, “you can call me Aoi.”

Snorting inwardly, he stood and motioned towards the door, “I’ll meet you there, **_Mr. Shiroyama_** ; seven o’clock, Café Champagne.”

The man hummed, leaning in to brush his nose along the smooth cheek, “I like a man who takes charge.”

Rolling his eyes, Ruki held the door open, “flattery gets you nowhere, Mr. Shiroyama. You have a nice day and I will see you at seven o’clock.”

Shutting his office door, Ruki sighed heavily. It seemed like the twentieth client who has hit on him and asked him for dinner. He had always denied them with the excuse of it being unethical but seeing how it’s been six months, going onto seven; why not give it a try. He’d use the man for a nice dinner, some expensive drinks and more than likely a one night stand. Because he was sure that was what the man wanted; just another notch on his bed post.

Taking his seat, he immediately began to work on his computer for the remainder of the day; clacking on the keyboard speedily. His job is the right kind of distraction to keep his mind from wandering off to the past few months too much. Not very surprised that Reita had done absolutely nothing to try and contact him; but, at the same time it hurt.

It had all been so perfect. But, that was the problem. Ruki had let himself get carried away in the ideal he may have found someone so perfect. He had let himself fall into the sweet temptation the CEO had offered him.

“Mr. Matsumoto,” a young woman knocked on his door.

“Yes, Ms. Steele?” he answered still working.

“You have a Mr. Yutaka Uke here to see you.”

Stopping, he grinned. Standing and forgetting his work completely, he rushed out of his office to find his friend. “Kai, what the hell are you doing here in Seattle?”

The man grinned, going up and hugging his friend, “well, I just decided the other day, I needed a vacation. And what better way to spend it, than to visit my friend, Mr. Big shot.”

“Yeah right,” Ruki snorted, showing his friend into his office. Shutting the door, he hugged Kai once more, “Jeez, I’ve missed you. I can’t believe you’re here! Why didn’t you call me and tell me where coming to the states?””

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” he smiled, taking a seat.

Leaning against his desk, the brunette smiled knowingly at his friend. “Okay, seriously, what the hell are you doing in Seattle? I’m not an idiot, Kai.”

His smile became a little embarrassed; shifting to pull out an envelope, Kai held it out, “okay, okay; it’s little business mixed with pleasure.”

Taking it, he opened and pulled out a letter. Looking over the paper to his friend who shrugged, Ruki quickly read over the lines. Face becoming shocked with each sentence; he gaped at Kai, “are you serious?”

“Yep,” he laughed

“You got called in all the way from Japan to do the catering for a Christmas benefits party?” he asked shocked, reading it over once more.

“Yeah, some big shot in L.A. called me a two weeks ago,” Kai began, pulling out another envelope; holding it up for the man to see, “and they also sent invitations for me to hand out to close friends and family. Lucky you, get to be the first to get an invitation from me.”

“Yeah, that is lucky me,” Ruki laughed, taking the invitation from the man and reading it over, brows furrowed, “a masquerade ball?”

“Yeah, I thought that was pretty weird for a Christmas party,” he laughed, standing.

Not seeing the name of the person holding the event, Ruki shrugged, “sounds like it could be fun. I’ve always wanted to be part of a masquerade ball.”

“So, you’re in?”

“Hell yeah I’m in,” the brunette laughed, tucking the invitation inside his suit pocket. Looking at the floor in thought, he asked, “Had you heard anything on Kyo?”

“I actually went to see him a week ago,” Kai said solemnly. Seeing the regretful expression, he tried to assure his friend, “it’s for his own good, Ruki. The stress of his job had gotten to him, which resulted in him becoming an alcoholic and then, you getting a job here in the states; he just snapped.”

“I should had helped him,” he looked up, “but, I was so excited about the job, which I ended up quitting six months later. I should have just stayed in Japan.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” Kai said sternly. Putting a hand on the shoulder of Ruki, he smiled, “You get to experience things only the rest of us dream of. I’m glad you didn’t waste it on Kyo; because, eventually, he could have really hurt you.”

“I guess you’re right,” Ruki said softly.

“How about we go out and have a few drinks?”

Quickly nodding with a grin, he gave a shake of his head, “Yes; I had a date planned, but, y’know, the guy seemed to narcissistic for my taste. So, yeah, you and I are going out. It’s Friday night and I don’t have to work for two days.”

“Great, so, let me get my bags to my-”

“No way Kai,” Ruki shook his head, taking his friend by the shoulder as he tried to go out the door. He gave the one dimpled cheek a pinch, “get your bags out of that cab because you are staying with me. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

This was familiarity Ruki had needed. He had his friend for well over the month. Kai would go to a few meetings with the company holding the benefit party for the holiday, which surprisingly they would be doing another for New Year’s. And if he had to admit, he was glad that his friend would be staying long enough for New Year’s because he won’t be celebrating alone.

So, that’s how he and his friend found themselves shopping for the masquerade Christmas party, which was a very formal party. Ruki had purchased a white tuxedo, with a black vest, white tie and a simple black shirt. Kai had gone for something far simpler; a black tux.

“How about this one,” Kai turned around, holding up a white feminine mask up.

Ruki frowned, a quick look to the shop owner with a hiss, “that is a fucking woman’s mask; do I look like a woman, Kai?”

“Well, its hard shopping for something that will match your tux, Ruki;” Kai whined, setting the mask back down, looking over a few more, “so, I’m just throwing idea’s out there.”

“My tux also has black and silver, Kai,” Ruki corrected smartly, looking at the glass cases. Eyes flittering all over the different assortments and different shapes; he hummed, “so something dark would probably be a start but I think something with a mixture would be nice.”

“What about this one,” Kai called, pointing to a mask inside the far side of the case.

Walking over to see, Ruki gazed at it. The mask looked verily simple; it was a simply designed silver mask by his standards with black satin ties. Although as he looked it over, he found that he liked the simplicity, instantly he called to the shop keeper, “excuse me, may I look at this one here?”

“Ah, I see one has caught your eye,” the woman smiled, taking it from the display case; handing it to the man. Smiling as the young man turned over in his hand, finger the satin ties, she began to explain, “This particular mask is called Colombina, named after a maidservant in the Commedia dell’arte; originally the female counterpart of the Bauta. This mask you wear to where everyone who’s anyone will be in attendance. A mask like this is for someone who isn’t afraid to let their personality shine through.”

Fingering it in thoughtfulness, he nodded, “I’ll take it.”

“Excellent choice,” the smiling as she took it and began to wrap it up, she looked to Kai, “is there anything you would like to look at sir?”

“Yes, there was,” Kai smiled, leading the woman off to a different display.

“Well,” Kai chirped, both of them carrying their own bag with their masks. He smiled, “can you believe it, we’ll be part of a really huge benefits party. They’ll be doing a silent auction, some fancy dancing, get to eat and drink the expensive stuff; and I was even told that they’ll be auctioning off a few of the richest bachelors in the states.”

Snorting, Ruki shook his head, “How the hell does that work?”

“From what I understand,” the dark haired man sighed, juggling his bag, “that you get them for twenty four hours. They wine and dine you. You can do whatever with or to them; with certain restrictions.”

“Wow,” the brunette exclaimed sarcastically, expression full of fake surprised, “it’s a dream come true!”

“Why do we care anyways,” Kai laughed, “it’s not like we stand a chance with all those women born with silver spoons in their mouths. Which reminds me, is your assistant married or seeing anyone?”

“No and yes, you can take her as your date,” he smiled, throwing an arm over Kai’s shoulder.

“Don’t you have date for the ball?”

Pursing his lips, Ruki nodded, “Yeah, I do. He’s actually attending the party, so, he’ll be picking us up in a limo. He was pretty damned persistent about me showing up with him that I had to finally give in.”

“Damn,” he chuckled, both getting to the man’s rental car and getting in, “how the hell did you nab this guy? From what I’ve seen, he’s all over you.”

“He just wants a dip in the honey jar,” he laughed. Setting his bag at his feet, Ruki smirked, “I fully intend to make him wait and beg for it.”

“You are positively evil,” Kai snickered.

Smiled fading with his friends comment he turned away, Ruki thought to himself bitterly, that he was just now smarter and more careful of men. As they arrived back to his apartment, they ordered takeout food and rented several movies. They had another day before the masquerade party.

Talking and laughing of their youthful days that night, Kai noticed the change in his friend; the distant outlook on life. Biting his lip, he questioned seriously, “Who was he?”

Quieting his laugh, Ruki shrugged, “Who’s who?”

A roll of his eyes, he gave his friend a stern look, “The guy who broke your heart?”

Scoffing, the man shook his head, denying it immediately, “Nobody broke my heart Kai. Where the hell did that come from?”

“You can’t lie to me, Taka; I’ve known you all our lives. Don’t think me an idiot,” the man scowled. Releasing a heavy sigh, he turned one of the dominoes over in his hand, “I can see it, Taka. You’re trying to brush it off but it’s not working. So, who was he?”

Giving another soft snort, Ruki leaned back on his hands. Taking a deep breath, he relented, “he was the owner and CEO of the publishing company that had hired me. It was… I knew what I was getting into but at the same time.” Shaking his head of the hurt, he grunted, “I was an idiot for believing all the shit he fed me.”

Swallowing, Kai mumured, “What did he do?”

“Lied to me,” he answered simply. Seeing the stern expression on his friends face, he shrugged, “He had forgotten to mention that he was engaged? Is that better?”

“How long had you two been seeing each other? I mean-”

“We kind of messed around a few months after I started working. At first it was just a little kissing, some touching, a few dates,” Ruki explained slowly. Grimacing, he averted his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat, “We’d only been in a real relationship for a month.”

“The two of you were together during the whole thing with Kyo?” he stated with interest

“Yeah,” he confirmed. Eyes sliding shut, a serene smile curling on his lips, Ruki began to remember his time with Reita. Biting on his lip as he remembered those peaceful moments, the illusion shattering as he remembered why it ended, “God Kai, the more time I spent with him, I just- he made me feel like I was his **_entire_** world. I had fallen so hard for him, that it scared me.”

“How did you find out he was engaged?”

“His **_father_** ,” he snarled. Licking lips, he swirled the red wine with a scowl, “the dick just waltzed in my office one morning, paying me off. The old fart told me to stop seeing Reita and to get out of the city because he didn’t want me to **_ruin_** his son’s image.”

“More like ruin **_his_** image,” Kai grumbled. Tossing the domino to the floor, “Reita never tried calling you to explain himself or anything?”

Shaking his with a scoff, the brunette grabbed his glass of wine and chugged it, “I mean, I can’t really blame him for it though.”

“Why not,” the dark haired man drawled.

“I decked him pretty fucking hard,” he chuckled darkly.

“Oh God, Ruki,” he burst out laughing. Grabbing his stomach as it began to hurt from his laughter, “I wouldn’t have wanted to get a hold of you after you clocked me either.”

Shrugging with a grin, Ruki picked up a piece of popcorn, “the guy deserved it though; thinking he can mess with me.”

“I like what America has done to you,” he continued to joke, grabbing a handful of popcorn and throwing it at Ruki with laugh. “You’re a **_whole new_** level of badass.”

“Thanks,” the shorter laughed along.

It was Christmas Eve and Ruki was excited. He had only been to one formal party and while it was a good experience, he was looking forward to this one. Having a friend there on your arm made a whole world of difference. It didn’t feel like everyone was staring at you, because they knew you didn’t belong there.

“Ruki, are you ready yet?” Kai called up the stairs, “Aoi is here and waiting.”

“Yeah,” he smiled at his reflection, smoothing out the front of his jacket, “just grabbing my mask.”

Snatching up the item, he rushed down the stairs quickly, he and Kai walking out to find Aoi dressed in all black. His hair slicked back sexily and his dark brown eyes drinking him in. The man bowing as he held the door open, “You look absolutely delectable, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“Thank you Mr. Shiroyama,” Ruki smirked, giving a look to Kai who tried to stifle his laugh.

Both getting inside the exquisite car, his assistant Ms. Steele already inside the limo; all four of them began speaking animatedly as they went to the large hall that was being used. Ruki kept scooting away from his date, who ran his hands up his thigh and across the small of his back. Sighing in relief when they reached the hall; he quickly clambered out of the limo, away from Aoi.

Presenting their invitations to the doormen, Ruki followed Aoi into the hall, where he found many women dressed elegantly with matching masks. All the men were wearing black tuxedos and it made Ruki suddenly made him feel like he stuck out like a sore thumb. He had on a white tuxedo jacket.

Quickly tying on his mask, he leaned over to Kai, “I’m already feeling nervous, I need wine or something strong.”

Chuckling, Kai nodded, “Yeah, me too; c’mon.”

Both maneuvered their way through the crowd, spotting a waiter carrying glasses both men waved the person down, grabbing glasses for themselves and their dates. Sipping at the crisp drink, Ruki was enamored by the ball. It was beautifully decorated, which he knew had cost thousands of dollars.

Becoming so caught up by hall, he had jumped in surprise when Aoi came up behind him, whispering in his ear, “Come dance with me.”

Taking a step back to look at the man, he didn’t get a chance to say a word as his glass was taken from him and he was led out onto the dance floor. Being held awfully close to the taller man, he was led across the floor fluidly; being twirled and dipped easily.

“I wasn’t lying when I said you looked delectable,” he spoke flirtatiously. Dipping Ruki again and pulling him up, their masked noses barely touching, “I feel like the luckiest man to have you on my arm.”

“Well, Mr. Shiroyama, that is very kind of you to say,” Ruki tried to laugh off his uneasiness, releasing his hold on the hand. “But, you are my client and I do ** _not_** date clients or coworkers. It’s just not-”

“I’ve heard differently,” the man cut the other off with a smirk. Taking the brunette by the hand again, his grasped tighter, “I’ve heard about a particular **_someone_** being used as a **_mere_** bed warmer for Akira Suzuki before he was to be wedded.”

Eyes widening, Ruki quickly yanked his hand back. Taking a step back, he became agitated by the man, he did his absolute best to keep his voice low, “what the hell are you getting at?”

“Oh, I think you **_know_** what I’m getting at,” the business man hinted with that smirk.

“You’re an ass,” he snapped turning to walk off, only for a hand to grip his upper arm tightly. Ruki got yanked back hard into the body of Aoi, the hold on his waist slightly painful. He warned, “Let go of me, Shiroyama or I’ll make you pay for thinking you can put your hands on me.”

“I don’t think so,” Aoi laughed, leading them back into a dance. His voice sly as he looked around, “you see, there had been a rumor several months back that Suzuki had become enamored by some brunette beauty in his office. That this **_person_** was the reason he decided to change things up; which started with the redesigning of the entire magazine.”

“And why the hell do I fucking care about any of this,” Ruki hissed, still struggling against the man.

“A close colleague of Akira’s had said that he had something even bigger planned for the company,” he paused, dipping the man a little roughly and then yanking him back up, “that changed when his little **_bed warmer_** had left; thanks to his father.”

“I still don’t see your point.”

“I had a chance to possibly own half of the company,” the black haired man growled, holding onto Ruki tighter that it hurt him. Harshly moving the body across the floor, he chuckled, “no thanks to the little slut, I’ll never get another chance.”

Getting his hand out of the tight hold, Ruki shoved Aoi back, snarling, “Not my fucking problem. Bitch to someone who gives a rat’s ass.”

Bristling at the smirk that curled on the man’s lips, Ruki turned and stormed off the floor. He was beyond furious. Searching for his friend he was passing by a group of people when out of the corner of his eye a man in a white tux captured his attention. The man had blonde hair that was styled into a slight faux Mohawk that was combed over to cover his left eye and a black and gold Phantom of the Opera Venetian mask that covered the other half.

The man looked up and their eyes locked. Ruki’s body went rigid, sensing a familiarity. Unable to make out the entire face of the man but the intensity of the eyes sent a familiar tremor of desire through him and it scared him. At that thought, he tore his gaze away and continued to search for his friend, shaking off the encounter.

“Kai,” Ruki called with relief when he finally found the other. Stalking up to Kai and his assistant, he snarled, “Aoi is a fucking asshole; we’re going in a cab when we leave.”

“What happened?” Kai asked, pulling the brunette closer.

“He’s just a complete dick,” he hissed, taking a glass of wine from a passing waiter and gulped down the contents. Wincing and breathing out the burn, he handed it back to the man and took another, “he knew about mine and Reita’s relationship. No one should have known about it.”

“Well, is it possible that one of Reita’s enemies may have gotten wind of it,” his friend offered, looking around. He shrugged, “he’s a business man after all and correct me if I’m wrong but they do have enemies.”

“But why bring me into it,” he hissed. Finishing that glass in two gulps, he ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t want to be used as some fucking pawn in their pissing contest.”

“Well, you slept with the man, so,” Kai gave a grim smile. Patting his friend on the back, he sighed, “do you just want to leave? I mean, before anymore dicks show up with all that bullshit?”

Opening his mouth to say ‘yes’, they were suddenly interrupted, “excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt.”

Ruki felt himself still; the man’s eyes looked even more gorgeous up close. “Uh, can I help you?”

“I was hoping you would allow me a dance,” the man replied smoothly.

That voice, that smile looked and sounded so familiar to him. But, he was so captivated by the striking chocolate brown eyes, Ruki nodded without thought, taking the hand that was held out to him. Led out to the dance floor his body was pulled close and held just right. It was all too familiar to him. But it couldn’t be Ruki began convincing himself.

“I must say, you are extremely gorgeous,” he began conversationally; gracefully leading them over the floor.

Beating back the blush, Ruki gave a tilt of his head deciding to play along with the playfulness of the other, “that’s kind of you to say but with that mask, I barely compare to you.”

The man chuckled, slowing and dipping the brunette lightly, “I’m nothing compared to your elegance.”

Chuckling, as he was pulled upright, he narrowed his eyes, “You’re an exceptional sweet talker and just so you are aware, it gets you nowhere with me.”

“I’ve been told that before,” he murmured in thought. Brown eyes saddened softly, suddenly commenting, “You remind me of someone.”

Brows shooting up, Ruki questioned, “Do I now? Because, I assure you, we’ve never met before.”

A soft smile appeared, “Yes, you do. Just the way you said that I mean.”

“Must have been very important to you if something I said reminded you of them,” the man said softly.

“I loved him,” was the offhanded reply. The blonde man shook his head regretfully, “I was being an idiot and because of my idiocy, I lost him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ruki smiled faintly. The song coming to an end all too quickly, he stood still as the man bowed slightly; fingertips being gifted with a quick kiss, the man blushed even hotter beneath his mask.

“Thank you for the dance,” the blonde nodded, turning off into the crowd.

Slowing his heartbeat, Ruki quickly turned and went to look for Kai. Finding his friend speaking to the chefs, Ruki waited for him to finish. Gazing out over the crowd when he found Aoi and the man he had just got done dancing with, speaking; and from what he could see, they were having a very heated discussion.

“So, how was the dance with prince charming?” Kai joked, handing a glass of wine to Ruki.

“Shut up,” he rolled his eyes playfully. Taking the glass and sipping at it, he looked back to where the two men had been, finding they both were still talking animatedly. It was becoming heated by the second.

Following the gaze of his friend, Kai frowned when he had seen the two men. And then, before either knew it, the blonde had punched Aoi, sending him to the floor. It escalated and it was an all out brawl between the two men. The blonde was atop Aoi, throwing punch after punch into the other’s face.

Men gaped and a few women screamed with shock, no one made a move to help the man on the floor; and then, a few of the security had come up to pull and hold back the blonde. Ruki and Kai couldn’t quite make out what the blonde was screaming at the beaten man because of all the commotion; people began piling out into the hallway. They looked to each other, wondering if they should do the same.

Taking Ruki by the arm and Kai led them out into the crowded hallway. Snaking their way through the crowd to outside, he removed his mask, “What the hell was that all about? Aoi just got his ass kicked.”

“I saw that,” Ruki laughed. Untying his own mask, snorting, “That’s what happens when you’re a dick.”

“I seriously want to know what the hell that was all about, that was better than paper view.”

“Oh please,” the brunette snorted. Running a hand through his hair, he looked over and saw that two of the security men were carrying Aoi down the stairs to his limo. He laughed, “The only thing I feel bad about is, it wasn’t me to kick his ass.”

“You are positively evil,” Kai snickered.

As the commotion died down and they were told to go back into the hall for an announcement, they tied their masks back on, both went inside. They had gathered the entire crowd back into the dance hall, an older man up on the podium. Going to a table towards the back and taking their seats, they listened to the man.

“I’m terribly sorry for the disruption that my son and Mr. Shiroyama had caused,” he began, looking out over the crowd, his gaze then being turned to the blonde coming back in. Smiling smugly as the younger man took a spot behind his father, “my son is going through a very…”

“Oh please,” blonde snorted, his voice coming over the sound system clearly.

“Excuse me,” the man turned around; putting his hand over the microphone to speak with the other privately. Their masks doing very little to hide their expressions scrunched in anger and soon, they were yelling.

The blonde shoved his father aside, “this evening is over; go home.”

Ruki blinked in shock. The entire crowd murmuring with astonishment, before they all began to stand and exit the building again. He looked to his friend, “Guess that means no more free drinks.”

“I guess not,” Kai shrugged, taking his mask off, “I need to speak with the staff, can you call a cab.”

Nodding, he stood and went outside; pulling his cell from his pocket. The cab number on speed dial, he called the company. Speaking to the person and giving them directions of where to pick them up; turning back to the door. Finding the blonde storming out of the hall, the elder man right on his heels.

“I don’t give a fuck what you say,” he snarled at his father. Yanking his mask off and motioning his driver to open the door, “I am not selling my company. You and Shiroyama can go to hell.”

“You will not talk to me that way! Had it not been for me, you wouldn’t have that money!”

Watching the entire scene in complete shock, Ruki watched the man get into the black SUV, getting a quick blurred look of the man’s unmasked face; his heart just about stopping in his chest as the door shut.  It couldn’t be. The features were too similar to Reita’s. There was no way that was him though.

“Hey, you ready?” Kai appeared.

“Yeah,” he nodded, tearing his gaze away for a moment. When he looked back, the SUV had already pulled away from the curb.


	8. Affair VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

Come Monday morning, the man couldn’t focus on his job. Tapping the pen in hand harshly against the desk, face tight into a grimace, Ruki tried to recall party; that man had been all too similar to Reita. But then, he was a completely different man at the same time. He seemed more lost. Three days and he couldn’t get that face out of his head.

“ _Mr. Matsumoto_ ,” his assistant called over the phone, breaking the man out of his thoughts.

Clearing his throat, he answered with a leveled voice, “Yes Ms. Steele?”

“ _Mr. Shiroyama is here to speak with you_ ,” she answered back a slight edge to her voice.

Breathing a heavy sigh and rubbing his temple, he tried not to groan, “Show him in, please.”

He was not looking forward to coming face to face with that man but the company needed his business and so, for the sake of the company, he was going to put up with him. Straightening in his chair with a deep meditating breath, he put on a straight face as his office door opened and the man was shown in. He spotted the very disapproving look on his assistants face and he assured her mutely with a quick smile.

Thanking the woman silently. Ruki wanted to punch the man just seeing him. One more deep breath, he refrained from snapping, “What can I do you for, Mr. Shiroyama?”

The man gave a faint smile as he sat in one of the chairs. Running a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh, “I’d like to apologize for my behavior at the party. It was completely uncalled for and I-”

“You were **_beyond_** rude, Mr. Shiroyama. You were out of line with your insulting insinuations about a business partner of yours or whatever.” Ruki growled, clenching the pen tightly. Rubbing his temples, he shook his head, “I do not accept your apology.”

“Are you fuck-”

“Oh, I would be careful with your next words, Mr. Shiroyama,” cutting off the man with warning narrowed eyes. Getting to his feet and leaning on his desk, he towered over the seated man, “I am **_completely_** aware of how you believed that you’d be able to blackmail **_me_** or Akira Suzuki into your petty bullshit. Yes, I was with the man for a short time **_but_** understand this Shiroyama, I am no one’s bed warmer and I sure and the hell am not someone you want to fuck with. Akira Suzuki found that out pretty quickly the moment I learned of his engagement and so, I ask this once, do **_you_** understand?”

“I understand,” he nodded grimly.

“Good. I appreciate that you took the time of day to **_try_** and apologize,” the brunette spoke derisively as he turned to his computer. He snorted, “But, I think I would have preferred a written apology than to have to face you.”

The business man had gaped at the words of Ruki; at a complete loss of how to comeback before he finally stood, gave a stiff bow to the man behind the desk and left the office.  As the door fell shut, he slumped back in his chair with a growl, “Fucking jackass.”

In the back of his mind, he was hoping that this wasn’t going to come back and bite him in the ass. This was a well paying job and Ruki would hate to be fired because he had defended himself from a harassing asshole. Taking one more deep meditative breath, he continued his work for the morning.

“Hey there workaholic, I have come to feed you,” Kai suddenly walked in with a plastic bag with Styrofoam containers. “I stopped at your favorite Chinese place.”

A quick look at the clock, Ruki frowned, “What are you doing here; I thought you had that meeting with the host?”

He smiled as he took a seat, “Don’t worry, I went. I just wanted to stop by and see how you’re doing.”

“My assistant called you and told you Shiroyama stopped by, didn’t she?” Ruki deadpanned.

Laughing sheepishly, Kai nodded. Setting the bag of food on the desk, he took a seat right across from his friend, gazing at him mischievously, “although, she also told me that Mr. Big Shot had stormed out of here looking extremely pissed off, so, I wasn’t too worried about you.”

“Of course, I’m okay,” he snapped with a roll of his eyes, “I’m not some damsel in distress. But, I’m done talking about that ass, how did the meeting go?”

“I repeat I like what America has done to you.” Beginning to take the food out of the bag, Kai began to tell his friend of his day, “So my meeting with the company CEO ended pretty quick. He apologized for the abrupt cancellation of the party and had said he’d pay in full for my time.”

“Nice guy,” Ruki commented, quickly typing on his keyboard. “What else did he say?”

“He appreciates I’m still willing to cater the New Year’s Ball, which low and behold, will also be a masquerade party.” Suddenly, he had a look on his face as he pulled a sealed envelope from the inside of his pocket and slid it across to Ruki, “not only **_that_** but he had also asked if I would deliver a letter to ‘ ** _my friend_** ’ who was with me at the Christmas Party.”

He had a gut feeling that there had to be more to this but he took the envelope to at least give it a quick look. Slicing it open, eyes quickly scanning over the words, Ruki had to stop and reread it to make sure of what he was reading. The man had written out a personal letter to him, asking him to attend the New Year’s Party as the other’s date. All he could think was what the hell. They had only talked for a mere handful of minutes and the man wanted to take him out.

“You should do it,” Kai smiled. “He seems like a really nice guy and hey, he’s loaded, if things don’t work out, you can take him for all he’s worth.”

The brunette shook his head firmly, “I don’t even know who this man is. How can I just show up to something like this and **_not_** know who **_they_** are?”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, he knows nothing about you. I mean, c’mon Ruki, we both know you are a total psychopath with anger issues but he doesn’t,” he tried to joke with his friend, only to earn an annoyed glare. Scratching the back of his head, Kai shrugged; “he’s already gotten you a mask; in case you said ‘yes’.”

“I don’t know, Kai,” Ruki mumbled, rereading the letter. He couldn’t deny that the masked man had caught his interest. At the same time, he didn’t want to risk getting hurt with that type of person again.

And as if he had read his friends mind, Kai frowned for a moment, before he shook his head, “You can’t keep hiding from relationships, Ruki. So what, a few guys screwed you over; it doesn’t mean they all will. Not all the fish in the sea are alike.”

Smiling in small gratefulness of the man’s encouraging words, Ruki bit his lip in thought. His friend had a point and he really didn’t want to spend the rest of his life alone. He really didn’t want go a few more months without sex. Looking down at the letter again, reading word by word slowly; he sighed.

“Alright, fine,” he finally relented after a short silence.

“That’s great!” Kai nodded enthusiastically, standing. “I’ll let him know that you said ‘yes’. Also, he would like you to wear the same tux. That way he’ll spot you a little easier.”

Ruki glowered, “You’re lying.”

“No, seriously, he wants you to wear the same tux,” he held his hands up in defense. Taking one of the containers and the chopsticks, he took a huge bite, “Also, you’ll have a seat next to him when we’re all served.”

“Oh, that’s **_so_** wonderful. I’m going to be having dinner with a man I don’t know, surrounded by people who have a **_lot_** more money than me. Sounds like such a wonderful evening,” he found himself declaring sarcastically, folding the letter back up and putting it inside his desk drawer, “alright, so the same tux and he’s got a mask for me already. I’m already finding myself becoming immensely annoyed with this guy.”

“Jeez, I swear Ruki,” Kai sighed heavily, sliding the other container towards the man. Taking one more bite, he chewed and then pointed his utensil at the man, “Will you at least try not to give the guy a hard time. He really seems to really like you.”

“I don’t think so,” Ruki smirked bitterly as he took a bite of his own food, “I think he seems to like the fact that my snarky attitude reminds him of someone.”

“Well, whatever you said or did, you’ve made quite the impression on him,” he chuckled.

“I get the feeling I could regret this,” Ruki grimaced, giving his food a stir.

“Hey,” Kai scolded, pouting slightly, “quit focusing on the bad so much. Live a little; life’s too short to follow rules.”

Shaking his head, the two of them began to eat, the whole while though, he couldn’t shake the fact that he had just agreed to go as some man’s date. Perhaps the reason he really gave in was because the man reminded him of Reita, just the way he reminded the man of someone. The both of them were merely attracted to each other for all the wrong reasons; it had to be the only explanation for the sudden invitation. Yes, Ruki was still hurting from the fallout with Reita; the only man he had loved. But, he couldn’t wallow in his sorrow forever.

“Don’t think so hard about things Ruki,” Kai interrupted his friends thought.

“Easier said than done,” he joked weakly.

By the end of the day, Ruki was dead tired. Mentally, emotionally he was drained. His entire year had felt like a complete shit show. Walking out of the building with his assistant at his side, he quickly hailed a cab for her. The two of them bid each other a good evening as the vehicle pulled away.

Gazing over the cars to call for another cab, he took a quick look up into the graying sky. Frowning, he pulled his collar up, “Wish it was spring already.”

“That makes the two of us,” a man commented behind him.

Jumping and turning, the brunette’s chest tightened and his mouth went dry. The strap of his messenger bag slipping off his shoulder, Ruki snapped out of his shock as he snatched it quickly. Swallowing, he smiled shakily, “Reita… uh… hi, how are you?”

“Hey,” the blonde replied gently with a smile; “I’m fine, how are you doing, Ruki?”

Feigning nonchalance with a shrug, he tried to be conversational with his ex, “I’ve been doing great. So, what brings you all the way to Seattle?”

“Business,” Reita answered simply, a glance and jerk of his thumb towards the building, questioning, “You work here now?”

Glancing to the building and then back to the blonde, he nodded, “Yes. I’m their new Creative Director.”

Humming, the man nodded, “lucky them.”

Feeling his face heat up as the other stared at him intently; Ruki cleared his throat, forced a smile and gave a nod of his head. “It’s good to see you, Reita. But, I have to get going.”

“Ruki,” the blonde reached out, keeping the brunette from walking away. A slightly sad look coming to his face, Reita quickly cleared his throat, “Wait, I- uh… I understand that you don’t want anything to do with me but please, can we talk. Come have a drink with me, as a friend, please.”

Entire body trembling with the close proximity of the other man, Ruki bit his lip as his gaze flickered to the hand on his arm. Looking back up into brown eyes and immediately, he gave in with a small nod of his head, “Sure, if you’d like, we can go out tonight. With New Years and all, they’ve decided to give us the rest of the week off. But first, I need to go home.”

“Let me take you,” Reita smiled, releasing Ruki’s arm.

Once more seeing that smile he had longed for and come to love, he agreed without a single thought because his chest had bubbled with emotions that had been buried, “Sure.”

The CEO’s smile brightened even further, “the cars over here.”

Biting the inside of his cheek he followed the other, Ruki was glad to see that Reita had driven his own car today rather than having Jason. Not that he didn’t like Jason, it’s just after the few times they had gotten busy in the back of the Escalade, he’s felt uncomfortable around the guy. Pushing that thought aside though as they got into the car, he gave the man quick and easy directions to his apartment. The silence a little unsettling as neither one of them knew what to say.

Thankfully, the drive was short. Telling the blonde that he’d only be a moment, he had gone up to his apartment. Unlocking the door, he rushed to his room and merely threw his bag and things onto his bed, changing out of the suit and putting something more casual on.

“Don’t I get ‘honey, I’m home’ or am I chopped liver now,” Kai remarked as he leaned against the bedroom doorway. Head tilting as he watched his friend rush into the bathroom touching up his hair, he smirked knowingly, “You’ve got a hot date. Here I thought I was gonna be your hot date tonight.”

“I know and I’m so sorry Kai,” Ruki apologized, taking a step back to look himself over. Turning to his friend with a barely contained excitement, “I know I promised we’d go out, it’s just that; Reita’s here.”

Kai blinked in shock, “here in Seattle?”

“Yes and he wants to go out for a drink. Seriously, I’m really, really sorry Kai.”

“Well you owe me,” he chuckled, ushering the brunette back to the front and out the door, “have fun.”

Grateful for his friend being understanding, the brunette rushed back to the ground floor, calming himself right before he walked out the front door. As he stepped out onto the street with a deep breath, he came to stop as he found Reita leaned on the hood of his car, cell up to his ear, speaking to whomever with that tone. Just staring at the other, he realized that he had missed the man more than he had believed. Ruki had missed the little things about him.

Ending the call, Reita turned to the complex, freezing as he found Ruki just staring at him. The blonde’s eyes widened slightly before softening at the sight of the man. Pushing off the car, he went around to the passenger and held the door open, “We’ll go wherever you want, Ruki.”

“Anywhere?” he question as he got in.

Reita laughed freely, “Anywhere.”

“Alright then,” Ruki hummed as the door shut the blonde went around to the driver’s side. He looked to the man as he got in, “Every chance I get, I go to the Bookstore Bar.”

“At the Alexis Hotel,” he cocked a brow.

“Yeah, you know where it is?”

“I’m currently staying at The Alexis Hotel,” he smiled.

Mouthing an ‘oh’ he gave a faint nod, changing the topic quickly, “Well, I love their wine selection.”

“Okay,” the blonde agreed, “The Bookstore Bar it is.”

They both laughed breathlessly as they worked on their third bottle of Chardonnay, the last few people still sitting in the hotel bar. He was feeling immensely good, the nice buzz he got from the wine freeing him of his worries. The wine made him feel self-assured as he begun to leave fleeting touches on Reita’s arm and along his thigh.

Finishing his glass, Ruki just had to ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Reita quieted his laugh as he knew that it was coming, staring into his glass of wine. Taking a breath before he finished the glass in one long drink with a sigh, “I’m not trying to make excuses Ruki; it was an arranged engagement set up by my father. I had been trying for the last two years to call the engagement off.”

“Still doesn’t tell me why **_you_** didn’t tell me,” Ruki pointed out while pouring another glass.

Giving a bitter snort, the CEO toyed with his wine glass, “no really easy way of telling someone you love that you’re in an arranged marriage.”

“But still, Reita,” he said softly, sipping thoughtfully at the liquid. “Having **_that_** get set off in your face by someone who obviously doesn’t like you wasn’t the best way to break the news.”

“And I do regret not saying anything,” the man said softly, focusing intently on the table top. Lightly running his finger over the rim, scowled, “and I know saying that still won’t make up for anything, Ruki.”

Looking out of the corner of his eye at the side of Reita’s face, seeing the somber look, Ruki breathed a heavy sigh, “well, we can start over as friends.”

Giving another sad smile, Reita couldn’t face the man. Hearing the other say that, brought on hurt and unable to face it, he stood, “it’s late, Jason will take you home. It was nice seeing you again, Ruki.”

“Reita,” Ruki stood quickly, taking him by the arm, “don’t be like that.”

“Its fine,” he forced another smile, avoiding eye contact with the man; “Have a good night, Ruki.”

Watching the man walk briskly away, Ruki looked down at his hands feeling a little guilty and he heard Kai’s words in his head and he chased after the man. Running to the elevator Reita had just got on and just catching it before the doors closed, he launched himself at the blonde; kissing him deeply. Moaning against the mouth, the all familiar hands ran down his sides, squeezing his waist, moving down to his ass and then up along the small of his back. Ruki let out another moan, his body burning hot with desire. The need to reacquaint himself with the body that had drove his senses wild, the taste that he was completely addicted to.

“Ruki,” Reita growled, switching their position and pinning the shorter against the wall. Cupping the face as he broke the kiss with a breathy groan, “I miss you; God I miss you so much baby. I miss you.”

“I miss you too,” Ruki gasped. Fingers going up into the blonde hair and pulling on it, he whimpered as teeth dug into his skin, lips grazed along his throat. He had missed the touches, the kisses.

The elevator announced their arrival and the blonde led the brunette to his suite. Quickly opening and closing the hotel door, Reita took his lover to the suite bedroom; setting him atop the downy mattress with a long sensual kiss. Chuckling as Ruki quickly removed his shirt and began working on his pants.

Smiling up at the man, Ruki yanked the other down to him, kissing him deeply. A knee going up between the blonde’s legs and rubbing against the hardening arousal; he moaned, “You’re wearing too many clothes Reita.”

Smirking, Reita eyes darkened, “I love that you’re still bossy as ever.”

“Shut up and get undressed.”

Chuckling, he did as the other demanded and began removing his clothing, feeling the hungry eyes on his body as he tossed the articles to the floor. He gasped in surprise as he was yanked down onto his back, Ruki taken immediate control; rolling his hips against Reita’s, pulling a low pleasured groan from the chest.

“Reita,” Ruki pleaded as he was rolled back over.

“What do you want, Ruki?” he whispered against the shell of an ear. Lips tracing down the jaw, he whispered again, “tell me what you want, baby.”

“I want you,” was the immediate answer. “I want you so bad, Reita.”

Reaching over to the night stand and taking out a small bottle of lube, Reita popped the cap and slicked his fingers. His breathing have gotten heavier, beyond excited. Kissing along the slender neck, to the fluctuating chest, to a nipple; nibbling on the bud, pulling a sharp gasp from the brunette.

The brunette whined louder, “Reita, please.”

Capturing the kissable lips once more, pushing a finger into the tight entrance, Reita let loose a low growl. The tight heat making his cock twitch with anticipation, he moved his finger slowly, adding a second a minute later and then a third. While still moving his fingers inside of Ruki, he had managed to get lube onto his arousal and slick it up. Leaning over the brunette, he guided his cock to the entrance.

Encircling his arms around the neck of Reita, pulling him back for another kiss as he was penetrated slowly, Ruki mewled as he was filled. Legs immediately came up around the strong waist with a breathy gasp, “Yes, you feel so good.”

Gradually thrusting in and out of the body, the blonde murmured hoarsely, “I’ve missed you so much baby.” Kissing down one side of the face and then the other, Reita whispered lovingly, “I miss kissing you. I miss holding you, Ruki.”

Tilting his head back when those kisses were then pressed down his throat, the feeling of joy made his chest swell up with those tender words; the thoughtful treatment. It was like nothing had changed, except, Reita’s passion was out of this world. The kisses were more fervent, the touches more devoted and the gaze was fierier, that it blew Ruki’s mind.

Whimpering when that spot inside of him was struck wonderfully, arching into the body atop of him, the brunette rolled them over to ride his lover. Steadying himself with a hand to the muscled chest, Ruki rode the man leisurely. He wanted this to last but the hands on his hips, waist, everywhere made it hard. He had missed the love making with Reita.

The man was still a powerful lover. Even after all these months, the blonde had memorized exactly where to touch him to make him cry out in pleasure, to make him quiver and clench, to make him quicken or slow his movements. Reita had even seemed to have remembered that Ruki absolutely loved to be massaged at the top of his inner thigh. The man had remembered everything about him.

Turning Ruki on to his back, thrusting faster, the blonde pleaded gruffly, “Stay, baby. Stay with me tonight.”

Clawing at the back as the movements quicken, his orgasm coming swiftly, the brunette nodded; trying to catch his breath, “Y-Yes.”

Body’s slick with sweat, the room filling with sexed heat, groans and soft cries. Reita held Ruki’s head carefully, foreheads pressed together, he gazed deeply into eyes. While the other held onto the blonde desperately, returning the intense gaze; moving in sync with the fierce drives; thighs clamping down on the waist.

And then, it seemed like it all came to such a swift end. Ruki’s orgasm bowling him over as he cried out with a thrust, coming blindingly good; his entire body convulsing around the other, yanking him into his own climax.

Breathlessly he placed brief soothing kisses along temple, Reita brushed aside sweaty hair, “that ended sooner than I wanted.”

“I was thinking the same,” Ruki laughed, still trying to catch his breath. Groaning slightly as the man pulled out of him only to suddenly hum as he was tugged to the blonde; snuggling into the body.

Kissing the top of the brunette’s head, lightly tracing his fingers along a shoulder blade, Reita murmured sweetly, “I still love you.”

Goosebumps erupting all over, Ruki’s own voice was soft, “I still love you too.”

Shifting his position onto his elbow, the blonde businessman gazed down into the diamond shaped face. Leaning down, their nose barely touching, eyes sadden; he breathed, “I don’t want you to leave, baby.”

“And I don’t want to leave you,” the other spoke honestly. Releasing a heavy sigh, lips pressing into a tight line, he shook his head, “but, after everything… I-I… for all I know, you’re married right now.”

“Did you see a wedding ring?”

“You could have taken it off,” Ruki pointed out.

The blonde questioned, using the man’s real name, “How do I gain your trust, Taka,”

Eyes fluttering up to meet the other pair, biting the inside of his cheek, he reached up to cup the man’s face. Leaning up to briefly kiss lips, Ruki whispered, “I’m here now.”

Reita smiled, “You’re right.” Kissing the brunette ardently, a hand smoothing down the slim side, he hummed, “You’re all mine for the night.”

“I’m yours,” Ruki whispered as he was pressed into the mattress.

Rolling over onto his side, the younger man snuggled into the pillow, smelling the strong musky scent of his lover. Smiling sleepily, Ruki reached out over the bed, searching for the body. All he was met with was the cooled rumpled bed sheets.

Forcing his heavy sleeping eyes open, he got to an elbow and gazed around the large suit, finding he was alone. The door barely open, he could hear the man in the next room speaking in his authoritative voice; making Ruki shiver in want. How he had missed hearing the man speak in such a tone in the mornings.

Yawning and stretching out over the bed, his body complaining in such movement, as he tried to ease his sore aching muscles. How Ruki had missed waking up sore after a night of sex, round and round of provocative sex. Smirking at the thought, he sat up slowly, his entire backside throbbing with such movement.

“You’re awake,” the blonde walked in, tossing his cell phone onto a chair. He crawled across the bed up to Ruki, kissing him chastely, “are you hungry?”

Sighing in bliss, he nodded, “Yes, I’m starving.”

“Good, I’ve ordered your favorite.” Pressing one more kiss to the brunette, his gaze had saddened slightly, “eat with me and then Jason can take you home.”

Also becoming saddened by the thought that he would have to leave, Ruki nodded, “just let me get cleaned up.”

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Reita chuckled, trying to hide his hurt.

Caressing the side of the blonde’s face with the back of his hand, rubbing their nose together, he shook his head, “I won’t.”

If anything, the morning had gone by too quickly, just like their night. Because now, Ruki was inside the black SUV, Jason taking him back to his apartment; despite it being the weekend, Reita had work to take care of. Not that he minded the man worked so much, being the entrepreneur he was, the younger man hated how times just seem to go by so quickly when they were together, never giving them the moment in time they deserved.

He hadn’t wanted to walk out of the hotel room, having clung to the blonde desperately, trying to make every kiss worth it. And he also knew that the other was trying to do the same, because Reita had held onto him so strongly. Every connection of lips more fervent than the last as they tried to let the other go but neither had the will to do it.

“We’re here, Mr. Matsumoto,” Jason smiled, looking up into the rearview mirror; getting out quickly and opening up the passenger door.

Snapping out of his daze, he waved to the man, “thank you Jason. It was good to see you.”

As the man shut the door, he stopped Ruki, a somber smile, “I’m hope I’m not out of line when I say this, Mr. Matsumoto but Mr. Suzuki hasn’t been the same since you’ve left. I’m not saying that you’re at fault or you should feel sorry, because if anything, you should have known from the start.”

Smiling at the kind words, he gave a squeeze to the arm, “that’s nice of you to say.”

The man gave a small nod, looking to the ground, voice low as if he was telling a secret, “I hadn’t seen Mr. Suzuki smile since you’ve been gone and it’s good to see him smiling once more.” Giving a quick bow, Jason shook Ruki’s hand, “You take care of yourself Mr. Matsumoto.”

“You too Jason,” Ruki smiled, watching him get back in the car.

Knowing that the driver wasn’t trying to make him feel guilty for anything, Jason’s words weighed heavily on his mind. Knowing that his leaving had just as much effect on Reita made his heart ache, because, it wasn’t just him who had suffered.

“Well, good morning, how was **_your_** night,” Kai greeted, from his spot on the sofa with his cup of coffee.

“It was fine,” Ruki answered with a roll of his eyes in an attempt to beat back the oncoming blush, “and no, I’m not going to divulge my sex life with you; even if you are my friend.”

“You’re no fun,” the man pouted playfully. Although a smirk appeared, “so, you two **_did_** a little romping in the sheets.”

Another roll of his eyes, he sat across from his friend, gazing at the television, “I feel like I messed up.”

“What makes you say that,” the other tilted his head in question.

“I didn’t want to let him go this morning,” the brunette said softly, his brown eyes saddening. He could still see the distress in those usually strong brown eyes; the faint sheen of tears. Ruki swallowed the lump in his throat, “I just- I felt like I was making the biggest mistake of my life.”

Kai smiled, putting a comforting hand on Ruki’s shoulder, “but then again, you could be making the greatest choice of life too. Ruki, think of it this way, you two meeting up after all this time, it might be a way to help you two see were you both could be possibly wrong.”

Blinking with the words in mind, it did help him see it in a more positive light. Looking up at his friend, he smiled with a sigh, “What would I do without you, Kai?”

“Live a very cliché melodramatic life,” Kai snorted, sitting back and going back to watching the news.

Narrowing his eyes, Ruki grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it at the man, “God, you’re so annoying.”

“You love me,” he smirked, tossing the pillow back.

“Don’t flatter yourself Dr. Phil.”

Gaping and grabbing a pillow beside him, Kai faked offensiveness, “I am not a bald headed, monotone speaking douche!”

“Are you sure,” Ruki snickered, pointing to the top of the black hair, “because, correct me if I’m wrong, your hair seems to be thinning right about there.”

“Jerk.”

“Bitch.”

Both laughed as they said it the same time and throwing their pillows into each other’s face.


	9. Affair IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

It was the night before the ball and Ruki was helping Kai go over the menu for the evening of what was to be served. And all he could think, was whoever the host was, he was filthy rich; because everything that his friend had been asked to serve was beyond expensive. They had several different types of wine; very expensive and classy which ranged from white wines like Le Montrachet and Château d’Yquem. Red wines like Château Mouton Rothschild and Château La Mondotte Saint Emilion. And their choices of champagnes ranged from drinks like the Clos Du Mesnil, Do Perignon, Perrier-Jouet and of course Cristal.

Leaning back against the couch, rubbing his eyes, Ruki yawned loudly. Setting the paper down, he looked over to Kai, “Damn, this guy is fucking loaded. I just finished going over the shipment of wine and champagne, damn, is he ready to impress.”

“Like I told you, this guy is a big shot,” he smiled, never lifting his eyes from his own paper.

“So, you ready to go over the dinner list or,” he hummed, going through the pile of papers, “would you like to go over the appetizers?”

“The dinner list,” Kai murmured, writing quickly.

Pulling the folder out from beneath everything, Ruki looked over what was to be served and his mouth dropped open. They had Dungeness crab, guinea fowl, oysters, steaks, and calamari; practically anything a normal person could only dream of purchasing and eating. Setting the folder down, Ruki shook his head, “okay, seriously, I’ve had enough of seeing how much this man spends to impress a bunch of douches with sticks up their asses. I want a beer.”

Kai laughed as he rubbed his temples, “Y’know, you’re right. Seeing all these prices and knowing I’m not milking this guy for all his worth, is beginning to annoy me.”

Rolling his eyes at his friends sense of humor, Ruki joked, “Oh yeah; I might just need do what you said and take him for all his worth.”

“I’m telling you man,” Kai called.

Grabbing the bottles of beer and a bag of chips, he went back and sat crossed legged on the floor, handing the bottle to the other. Popping the cap off, Ruki groaned, “How many people is this guy expecting?”

Kai hummed as he went through the pile quickly, pulling out paper, “it says at least two hundred and fifty people.”

Raising his brows, the brunette took a long drink, snorting, “I don’t know if I made the right choice in agreeing being this guys date.”

“How about Reita,” the man commented suddenly, scribbling on the paper. He tilted his head as he looked up, “You hadn’t gone to see him, hadn’t called him or even said a word about him; what’s up with that?”

“I don’t even know if he’s still in Seattle,” Ruki murmured, picking the folder back up. Going through the checklist and making notes, he shrugged, “it goes both ways Kai. He knows where I live.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” the black haired smiled, “but, from what I see, he’s giving you the lead. He knows how big he had messed up, Ruki. You aren’t exactly making it seem fixable either.”

Glowering over papers in his hold, Ruki growled, “Drop it Kai. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“When will you ‘ ** _want’_** to talk about it?”

Ignoring the question and going back to reading the words on the paper, the brunette scribbled furiously on the paper and then the pad. Drinking his entire beer in a few large gulps, he did everything to avoid the question; because, in honesty, he couldn’t answer it. Ruki couldn’t say why he hadn’t gone back to Reita, when every fiber in his body told him to go.

They worked in silence for another hour, staring at typed words on white paper beginning to take its toll, Ruki removed his glasses. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he flinched when a hand was set on his shoulder. Looking up into the equally tired face of Kai, he smiled.

“C’mon, go to bed, Ruki,” he smiled, lifting the other up easily. “I can finish the rest.”

“Are you sure,” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I’ve done this a million a times.”

Sluggishly making his way into the kitchen for a glass of water, Ruki looked at the clock, it reading eleven fifteen. Yawning, he went back into the living room with his cup and down the hall to his room; calling over his shoulder, “Good night Kai.”

“Night, Ruki.”

Shutting the door and setting the water on the nightstand, he removed his shirt and tossed it into the hamper. Turning to his dresser, he stopped when saw himself in the full length mirror. He still had marks over his entire chest and stomach. Seeing the small dark abrasions all over his skin made his stomach clench with desire.

Running a finger over a particular mark on his collarbone, Ruki bit his lip, remembering the night in full detail. The blonde’s hands were everywhere on his body, his mouth biting and sucking him. The way he moved-

Blinking, as he felt himself aroused by his dreaming, Ruki slapped himself in the forehead, “No, no, no, and no. Bad thoughts, quit it.”

Taking a deep calming breath, he looked one more time at his reflection. Contemplating as he saw his cell phone in the reflection on the night stand behind him; Ruki nibbled on his lip for a moment longer. Eyes flittering back forth between himself and phone. He wants to call the man so badly but then again, he was too scared to do it. What would Reita think of him?

“Jesus Ruki, you’re being ridiculous!” He hissed, rubbing his head furiously.

Turning and going to the phone, he picked it up, scrolled through the numbers; easily finding Reita’s number. Thumb hovering over the call button for a second, he pressed; holding the phone up to his ear, listening to the ring.

The line clicked as it was picked up, a weary voice answering, “ _Akira Suzuki_.”

“Reita,” Ruki smiled, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.

“ _Ruki, why are you calling this late; is everything okay; is something wrong_?”

He laughed softly at the worried tone, “Everything is fine. I just… um… was you sleeping?”

“ _No_ ,” the man answered, a faint shuffling of papers coming over the line. “ _Just going over some things; are you sure everything is alright?_ ”

“Yeah, everything is fine,” Ruki breathed, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes due to the concern in the other’s voice. Clearing his voice, he questioned softly, “I-I… um… can I come see you?”

There was a moment of silence, neither one saying anything or even breathing before Reita questioned softly, “ _You really want to see me_?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately. “Yes, I do; I need to see you.”

There was slight static coming over and then, Ruki could hear a soft murmuring over the line which he assumed was Reita speaking with Jason. Swallowing in anticipation as it seemed to take forever; the blonde’s voice came back over the phone line, “ _Jason will be there in ten minutes_.”

“Okay,” the brunette answered, feeling all sorts of excitement well up in him.

“ _Alright, I’ll see you in a bit_ ,” Reita’s voice held a hint of a smile.

Nodding excitedly, even though the man couldn’t see him, Ruki grinned, “Okay.”

Hanging up, Ruki turned and grabbed a small bag and began stuffing necessities inside, a change of clothes and his phone charger inside the bag. Slipping socks on and changing into different clothes. Gave himself a look over and walked back out into the living room, Kai still sitting on the ground with papers in hand.

Head lifting up when he heard the footfalls coming down the hallway, he frowned, “I thought- where you going, Ruki?”

“I’m going to go see Reita,” Ruki smiled, going to slip his shoes on.

Kai stood, “why?”

“I want to see him,” he shrugged.

“He’s not a booty call Ruki,” Kai said sternly. Arms crossing his chest, “he’s got feelings just like you do.”

Looking up from his task, the brunette’s mouth fell open; he couldn’t believe that his friend had just said that to him. Standing, he gave shake of his own head, “I know he does, Kai. I’m still a little confused about what to do but I know one thing for sure; and that is, I’m not using him.”

“If you say so,” the man shrugged.

“I’m not,” he said softly.

“Okay then,” the dimpled man smiled. Going up and giving the other a quick hug, “just be here by four tomorrow, okay. That will give us enough time to get ready for the ball.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here,” Ruki assured.

“Well, you go have fun,” Kai winked, “don’t stay up **_too_** late.”

Blushing, Ruki smacked Kai on the shoulder, “pervert.”

Right then the buzzard for his apartment rang and his entire body tingled, knowing that Jason was here to take him to the CEO. Taking his bag and a jacket, Ruki waved to Kai and walked down to the awaiting car.

Smiling to the driver who returned it, he apologized, “I’m sorry about how late it is.”

“No, it’s completely fine, Mr. Matsumoto,” the man chuckled, opening the door for the brunette.

“I appreciate you coming to get me though,” Ruki blushed, avoiding the other’s gaze.

The man gave the other a knowing look as he shut the passenger’s door and climbed into the driver’s seat. The drive seeming quick, considering there were hardly any cars on the streets, so, when they had pulled up outside the hotel, Ruki hadn’t had the patience to wait for Jason to open the door as he quickly hopped out. Nodding to the person in the lobby and practically sprinting for the elevators. A press of the floor button and he found himself becoming impatient by the ride up. So as the elevator announced his arrival, he ran for Reita’s room number; knocking on the door excitedly. It barely was being opened as he pounced on the blonde, kissing him urgently; arms coming up around his waist to steady the sudden weight.

Reita pulled away, eyes wide, “wow, that was- I did not expect that.”

“I know you weren’t,” Ruki laughed, nudging the door shut.

Leading them to the couch in the suite, Reita sat Ruki down as he went and grabbed them something to drink. Coming back and sitting next to the man, he immediately got a lap full of the brunette. Lips being captured in an intense kiss, the blonde groaned as the other rolled his hips against him; sucking and nibbling on his lower lip.

Gasping as the younger male kissed down his throat, Reita groaned deeply, “Ruki, what are you doing?”

“I want you,” he gasped, reaching down and undoing the blonde’s jeans. Kissing the man again, “I want you inside me.”

“Ruki, wait,” Reita tried to push the other back. Hissing as his bulge was palmed, flexing his hips against the touch, he swallowed, “Ruki, just, wait a minute.”

“Why,” he whined, putting more pressure on the arousal. “Please Reita, I want you so bad.”

“Ruki, please, can’t we just-” he was cut off as the man slipped from his lap and was between his legs. His cock being pulled from the confinements, Reita tried to stop the other, “Wait, Ruki. Let’s tal- Oh fuck!”

Swallowing the entire head of the throbbing arousal, smiling around the mouthful, the groan of pure adulterated pleasure made Ruki’s own cock twitch. Moaning deep in his throat, feeling the blonde shiver beneath his touches, the twitching of the muscle in his mouth making him fumble for the top of his jeans; he was beyond needy. He reached in to take his own arousal, stroking it in time with his suctions.

“Fuck,” Reita hissed. Reaching down to entangle his fingers through the silky hair, mouth hanging open in sharp gasps as the man’s mouth moved up and down his shaft.

Releasing the hot arousal, Ruki slinked his way up the muscled body; his hands slipping beneath the shirt to palm over the ripped stomach. Pushing the clothing up the chest, licking and biting along the torso, flicking a tongue over one of the blonde’s nipples; he looked up through his eyelashes at Reita.

“Ruki,” he tried again, swallowing as that skillful tongue flicked over his hardening bud once more. He groaned, “Ruki, please… just-wait.”

Stopping his ministrations, Ruki’s voice was soft and worried, “don’t you want me?”

Inhaling a deep breath to calm himself, the man cupped the brunette’s face, “of course I do; but, Ruki, I want us to be fixed. To be together, not **_just_** like this.” Shifting and pulling Ruki off the floor, kissing him gently, “I **_do_** want you, more than anything, I want **_you_**. Fuck, I want you so bad after that.”

“Why did you want me to stop then?”

“I don’t want this to be just about sex,” he whispered.

Licking his lips, understanding what the other was saying, Ruki looked down guiltily. His face being lifted immediately, getting kissed softly; he sighed softly. The loving, careful touches he was gifted with turned his desire into something else. Made him needful for the love he knew Reita was capable of giving.

Carrying Ruki to the bed, laying the other down, Reita whispered, “I love you Ruki.”

Feeling all his emotions well up in his chest, Ruki’s voice quivered, “I love you too, Reita.”

Hands cradling the other’s face, kissing him everywhere, the blonde spoke against the smooth flesh, “I just want to hold you, Taka.”

Ruki’s lips stretched into a serene smile “hold me then.”

Kissing the brunette on the temple while shifting their positions so he could hold his lover tightly, Reita nestled his head atop the chest. A hand coming up to his hair, soothingly scratching his head, making him purr and lull him off to sleep quickly.

Nuzzling the top of the man’s head, the brunette encircled his arms around the body, whispering the other’s name, “Akira.”

Stretching out over the bed, feeling more refreshed than anything, the blonde sat up and looked around the room; he was alone. The brunette wasn’t in the bed with him. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he called groggily, “Ruki, babe, where are you?”

“Bathroom,” was the muffled answer.

Feeling at ease that the other hadn’t left, Reita got up and went to the bathroom, finding the other brushing his teeth. Going up and wrapping his arms around the small waist, kissing him up along a shoulder, humming, “Good Morning, beautiful.”

Giggling, Ruki looked up into the reflection, “Morning handsome.”

“What are you doing up so early?”

“Early?” he asked, spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste, “it’s almost noon.”

Blinking, the blonde went back into the room and looked at the digital clock, seeing it was indeed nearly noon. Scratching the back of his neck, “wow, there’s a first.”

Coming out of the bathroom, Ruki pushed Reita onto the bed, straddling him, “what do you mean?”

Chuckling and turning them over so the brunette was lying on his back, he spoke in-between kisses, “I usually don’t sleep past ten.”

“Oh really,” he giggled again, letting out a sharp gasp when hands smooth down his naked sides and gifted with a nip of teeth to his shoulder. Ruki hummed in delight, “would you like me to wake you up?”

“I think I like that idea a lot,” the business man growled. Slipping his hand into the boxers of the Creative Director, “I’d like nothing more than that.”

Whimpering as the hand brushed past his aching cock, down to lightly fondle his balls and then slightly further to tease his entrance. Whining when the hand slipped out and his underwear was removed, being denied what he had wanted most; the brunette clawed down the strong shoulders. The blonde licked up from his navel to his left nipple, to the other and back to his navel.

There was a knock on the door, stopping them in any further activities. Clearing his throat, Reita covered himself and Ruki, “What is it Jason?”

Jason’s voice sounded from the other side, “Your father is on the line.”

Expression pinching, the blonde snapped, “Tell him I said go to hell.”

The man didn’t say anything for a moment before stammering, “Y-Yes sir.”

Not giving his young lover a moment, he had pushed two slick fingers through the tight entrance, thrusting in and out slowly at first, adding a third, Reita quickened his movements. Getting the brunette to moan wantonly, squirming with desire.

Removing his fingers and slipping out of his own clothes, Reita positioned himself and thrust in the tight heat; making Ruki crying out at the quick intrusion. Setting a slow hard pace; the nails of Ruki scratching down his back, digging into skin; he released a guttural moan. The soft pleas falling from his young lover sent chills up and down spine as they moved in sync with one another.

“Reita,” Ruki whispered, tilting his head to kiss the man. Keening against the parted lips as he ran his fingers through the soft blonde hair, calling out, “Akira.”

Goosebumps rose up over the entire surface of his body, he groaned, “Say it again.”

The man complied immediately, “Akira.”

“Again,” he growled.

“Akira,” Ruki chanted, clinging to the body for dear life. The louder he got, the harder the man thrust into him and the more he chanted, the faster the blonde went.

His mind and body was now literally in overdrive as he kept chanting Reita’s name, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His prostate being slammed into over and over; shoving him further and further towards the brink of no return. It was all coming to an end, much too quick for Ruki’s liking. But it didn’t stop the screams of pure adulteration of ecstasy pouring out from his chest.

Reita gripped the thigh of the brunette tightly against his hip, continuing to pound into the latter ruthlessly. Both their bodies covered in perspiration, making their skins stick to one another, the blonde bit down harshly on the base of Ruki’s neck, forcing out a whimper. He groaned when he felt the brunette quiver and clench around him.

“Taka,” he growled.

“I’m so close,” Ruki whimpered.

An arm slipped beneath his back, lifting Ruki up slightly, helping him angle his body just enough, he screamed out as he was pounded into. His leg being lifted higher, making the man wonder how he had became so flexible. And then, his vision and mind went blank as his orgasm hit him full force; Reita following a moment later.

Collapsing against the bed, panting heavily, the young director hummed in satisfaction. Pulling the blonde close, nuzzling the chest, he whispered breathily, “I want to stay with you.”

Chuckling, Reita tightened his hold, “why don’t you?”

Craning his head slightly to look up, he grimaced, “I’ve got to get ready for a New Year’s Party tonight.”

“When do you have to be there?”

“Well, I promised my friend I’d be back by four to get ready,” he said thoughtfully.

“In that case,” he smirked, rolling them over so the brunette was lying atop of him, “how about we have lunch together?”

“I could go for lunch,” Ruki laughed, his sides getting tickled.

“Good, I was hoping you would say that.”

He was running late; having lost track of time when he was with Reita. It was a quarter past four when Ruki had said he’d be back before four, his blonde lover having taken him back and dropped off in front of his apartment. Although, he hadn’t honestly wanted to get out of the car but the businessman had said he had his own New Year’s party that he had to be in attendance to.

“Can I see you after?” Ruki asked between soft kisses, cradling the blonde’s face.

Reita purred as the other nuzzled him, “I would love nothing more than to see you tonight.”

“Let me know when you get back to the hotel, okay.”

“Of course, I will.”

“I’ll see you tonight then,” Ruki smiled sweetly, pulling him in for another kiss.

“Tonight,” Reita whispered.

Biting his lips as he got out of the car, waving to the two men inside, the brunette rushed up to his apartment, not surprised to be greeted by a very pissed off Kai. Smiling sheepishly as he shrugged off his jacket and set his bag down, he turned to the man, holding his hands up; trying very hard not to laugh as he made an act of surrendering.

“I told you four, Ruki,” Kai ground out.

“I’m here now,” he pouted, going to his room and then into the bathroom.

Kai scolded, “Just hurry and get cleaned up.”

“Yes, mother,” he rolled his eyes.

“No one needs a smart ass, Ruki!” the man called through the shut door.

Finishing his shower quickly and dressing into the white tux, making sure that it had been pressed perfectly. He began the slow process of fixing his hair and even put a bit of make up around his eyes to suit the Roman gladiator mask with silver painted plume that Kai had brought for him from his mysterious date. His friend having said that his date was wearing something similar, so, he knew it would be easy spotting the man.

“Hey, you ready yet?” Kai knocked on the door, wearing his black tux.

“Yeah,” Ruki answered, taking the mask, “you call the cab?”

“It’s waiting downstairs.”

When they had arrived and showed their invitations to the doormen, they quickly tied their masks around their heads. Ruki biting the inside of his cheek in nervousness, he grabbed a glass of zinfandel wine from a passing waiter, drinking it quickly. Giving the empty glass to another waiter who was passing by with another tray of red wine, he took the glass; sipping at it more attentively.

“Nervous?” his friend chuckled beside him, sipping at his own wine.

“I just, I don’t know what I’m doing here,” he murmured. Gaze flittering over the crowd, he thought of the blonde CEO, “I should be with Reita instead of being here.”

Kai laughed, patting the brunette on the back. He looked at the decoration, he hummed, “C’mon, quit being such a drama queen; I gotta say though this party is more extravagant than the Christmas, wouldn’t you say?”

“It is,” Ruki hummed, looking up at the hall.

If anything, this party was far grander than the last. Walking through the crowd of doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, models and many other high end pricks. Ruki accidently bumped into a chestnut color haired woman, wearing a black and maroon mask, bowing and apologizing to the young woman, ignoring the disdainful look she shot him.

“There you are,” the blonde appeared, wearing a black gladiator mask similar to the brunette’s but with gold.

Smiling, he greeted the other in slight mockery, “here I am. You were looking for me?”

“You **_are_** my date, **_aren’t_** you,” he asked with a tilt of his head.

“Who’s date?”

The man laughed, taking the brunette’s hand and gave it a squeeze, “we’ll introduce ourselves in the new year as **_friends_**. Which is,” he glanced at his watch, “in three hours; so, how about it?”

Ruki gazed into the man’s eyes intently, finding that the other was genuine about it; he nodded, “okay.”

“Great, I hope you don’t mind if I had you seated next to me,” the blonde glanced quickly at the open space, hand held out, “Dance with me, please.”

“Okay,” he answered softly, taking the hand.

Led out onto the dance floor, held against the body just right, Ruki followed his dance partner across the floor. Not realizing all eyes were on the both of them, the gaping mouths, envious stares of women. All his attention was on the man he was with, finding everything about the other so familiar; the feel, the voice, the eyes, even the smell of the man.

As he was up righted from being dipped, Ruki frowned, “Seriously, who are you? I feel like I know you.”

“Feelings mutual,” the blonde replied. Clearing his throat as they came to a stop, keeping the brunette on the dance floor, he shrugged, “but, I believe I’ve already told you that haven’t I?”

“Yes, I believe you did,” Ruki nodded. Another song starting up, he ushered the blonde into another dance, “you had said I had reminded you of someone. So, are you trying to tell me something?”

“No, it isn’t that at all,” he laughed.

“Son,” a man came up wearing a red bauta mask, tone strained. He yanked the blonde off to the side, hissing, “What are you doing dancing with this man, when you should be tending to your guests.”

The blonde growled, lowering his voice, “why don’t you take care of them, seeing as how you invited them all. All I did was **_sign_** the fucking checks for you.”

“How **_dare_** you speak to me like that,” the man’s eyes widened, back handing the blonde.

Ruki flinched at the horrible sound. Suddenly, he thought of Reita and his father; going up and shoving the older gentlemen back, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“You stay out of this,” the man turned to the brunette, shoving him back. “This is a **_family_** affair.”

“Keep your hands off him,” the blonde grabbed his father by the front of his jacket.

By then the guest surrounding the three men had stopped what they had been doing and were now completely focused on them. Everyone watched intently, whispering to one another at the sight of father and son arguing.

“I will not let my **_only_** son act with such disrespect,” the man snapped. His furious gaze turning to the brunette, “and I will not let him be seen with another -”

“Don’t you dare,” the blonde hissed, shoving his father back, “don’t you fucking dare bring him up, do you hear me?”

“Enough,” an older woman came up, taking her mask off; she glared at the both of them, “that is enough! This is a private matter. Both of you need to take this outside, right now!”

Ruki looked between the two men, his entire body trembling with adrenaline. He stepped to the blonde taking him by the arm, who turned to him, apologizing, “I’m sorry.”

“Its fine,” he assured the man. “Really, it’s fine. I’ve had worse.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” the man said sternly, a quick glance at his father. He turned back to Ruki, “excuse me.”

Watching the man and his father leave, the woman following after closely, he looked around, finding all eyes on him. Blushing in discomfiture in being caught between the family’s personal affairs, he went looking for his friend. Slipping through the crowd quickly, the woman he had bumped into by accident appeared in front of him.

“You look familiar,” she tilted her head.

Ruki frowned, “I’m sorry.”

“You look so similar to his ex lover, but, it couldn’t be.” She hummed thoughtfully, before turning and walking off.

Gazing after the elegantly dressed woman, confused with her words, which now seemed to be on repeat inside his head; he wondered of who she spoke of. He had reminded her of someone’s lover; while he reminded the blonde of someone he had loved. It made Ruki wonder if they spoke of the same person.


	10. Affair X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

It had been nearly an hour since he had danced with the blonde; Kai was busy attending to the kitchen staff and the waiting staff. Making sure that the dinner menu was going perfectly well and they had plenty of wine and champagne still left. So, Ruki was now currently standing off to the side, watching as couples danced in the middle of the floor, people chattered away about the stocks and other dreary subjects.

He had walked around the party a few times, finding the woman that had alleged he had looked like someone’s lover. Each time they made eye contact though, she would stare at him with so much hate; it actually sent chills down his spine. She was a woman scorn and it was all aimed at him. Ruki had no idea who the woman was.

Downing his fifth glass of zinfandel, he decided he was going to find something to snack on; his stomach grumbling softly. Ruki waved to Kai as he approached the table with finger food laid out, he removed his mask with a heavy sigh, “I’m so bored.”

“Not just you,” the man laughed, handing his friend a glass of water.

Thanking the other and sipping at it, Ruki noticed his date’s father coming from the hallway they had disappeared down an hour earlier, the woman following after him; still looking immensely pissed. He frowned when no one else came from the hall.

“So, where is your date?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged, taking another drink of water. “He and his father were getting into it and I think it was his mom, came to put a stop to it.”

“Really?” he asked intrigued.

“Yeah, the old prick shoved me,” Ruki scowled, remembering the event second by second. “But, my date had stepped up to his own dad for me, so, that says a lot about him; wouldn’t you say?”

“It does,” Kai agreed with a slight nod. He grimaced a second later, “but, the asshole shouldn’t have touched you in the first place.”

“Amen to that,” he smirked as he began to put his mask back on.

“Mr. Matsumoto, it has been such a long time,” a gentleman wearing a blue and silver mask came up.

Giving a quick look to Kai who shrugged, Ruki tilted his head, questioning, “I’m sorry, you are?”

The man chuckled, pushing his mask up slightly; he winked, “John Matheson.”

Blinking, a smile stretched onto his lips in seeing a familiar face, “Mr. Matheson, I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. It has been a long time, can’t believe you remember me.”

“I could never forget you,” John laughed, fixing his mask back on his face. Setting his glass down, he bowed, “would you honor me with a dance, Mr. Matsumoto.”

Looking to the hand and then to the masked man, Ruki nodded, “of course, Mr. Matheson.”

Taking the offered hand and led out to the dance floor, he smiled as he looked up to the man; both moving across the floor. The elder held him closely, keeping his voice low, “so, what are you doing here at this benefits party?”

“I had gotten a invitation,” the brunette answered, giving a nod towards the direction they had come from, “my friend is the caterer and well, he got a few invitations and so, I got one. I live here in Seattle now, Mr. Matheson.”

“Oh, is that so,” the man chuckled, dipping the young man. “So, you are here by chance.”

“If you could call it that,” Ruki flushed when John pulled him back up and their faces were less than an inch away. He cleared his throat, “so, what brings you to Seattle?”

“A little relaxation and a little bit of business,” John answered, easily leading the brunette through the other dancers, smiling wider, “so, if I may ask, are you seeing anyone; because quite honestly, you are far too gorgeous to be single.”

Feeling uneasiness creep up in his chest at what seemed like a harmless questioned, Ruki lied. Although it wasn’t a complete utter lie, because, he is still sleeping with Reita; “No, I’m not single. I am currently seeing someone.”

“That’s too bad,” the man hummed in disatisfaction.

The song came to an end, both of them giving a bob of their heads. Ruki went to turn, but, John had grabbed him by the shoulder, holding his hand up once more, the eyes of the man questioning for another dance. He had a feeling that he shouldn’t, the brunette smiled meekly as he took the hand.

Led off into another dance, slower than the first; Ruki cleared his throat, “so, how have things been with the company? I’ve heard a lot of rumors.”

“Have you now,” the man’s brow cocked. “No longer employed and you’re hearing things.”

“Yep,” he shrugged as if he wasn’t enticed by his words, “but, they are **_only_** rumors, are they not?”

Matheson gave a hum. Looking up around the crowd, he lowered his voice, “Well then, one **_particular_** rumor I took interest in **_was_** Mr. Suzuki was going to replace myself with you as the new Editor-in-Chief when you had been with the company. There also had been whispers that he was going to sign over half the publishing company to an unsuspecting person.”

“Well, Mr. Suzuki is a very enigmatic entrepreneur,” Ruki pointed out, his brows furrowing beneath the mask not liking what the man had implied. “But, all you know Mr. Matheson, is these are mere simple rumors. Your job may not have been at stake at all.”

John looked to Ruki with a very calculating expression, before shrugging, “you may be right, Mr. Matsumoto. Rumors are just that; rumors.”

“Of course they are,” the younger man nodded, tightening his hold as he was dipped once more and up righted slowly.

Tensing slightly as a hand slowly slid from his waist to his hip and ever so lightly, it rested over the right side of his butt. Keeping himself calm, Ruki shifted his body enough, to where John’s hand was now back on his hip; he smiled as if he hadn’t noticed.

Their second song coming to a dance, the brunette bowed his head, “thank you for the dance, Mr. Matheson and it was nice to see you.”

“Likewise, Takanori,” the man winked, taking the other’s hand and kissing fingertips. He smirked, “save me a dance for later?”

Laughing softly, Ruki nodded, “Of course.”

The older man turned and walked away, as he let out a sigh of relief, the brunette went to turn the other way, stopping as he found the chestnut haired woman coming towards him. Blinking as she held up her hand for him to take, Ruki hesitantly took the smooth hand; leading her into a dance. Neither one saying a thing, before her nails dug into Ruki’s shoulder.

Hissing at the pain of her manicured nails digging through his tux, he kept his voice low, “I don’t know what your problem is Miss, but, I’d appreciate if you would stop that.”

“What makes you so special,” she muttered softly, a scowl forming. She began leading the dance, “what makes you better than me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, abruptly stopping them. Releasing his hold of her, growling, “Or who **_you_** even **_are_** for that matter of fact but I’m not someone you think you know, miss.”

“I do **_indeed_** know who you are, **_Mr. Matsumoto_** ,” the chestnut woman smirked.

Narrowing his eyes behind his mask at the use of his name, Ruki tensed, “how do you know me?”

“You are… excuse me, **_was_** Akira Suzuki’s lover, were you not?” her eyes sparked dangerously, painted red lips pressing into a firm line. “It’s because of **_you_** , that the engagement was called off.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Ruki refrained from snapping. He didn’t want to cause a scene with a woman he didn’t know; “So, if you’ll excuse me **_miss_** , I’d like to return to the party and not be bothered with such **_petty_** claims.”

“You little shit,” she hissed, her hands clenching tightly.

“There you are Takanori,” John suddenly came up, putting an arm around the man’s waist. He smiled to the woman, “if you excuse me, I need to speak with my colleague.”

Being led away from the woman, Ruki looked up to the man with relief, “thank you so much John.”

“You are very most welcomed,” he smiled, glancing over his shoulder at the woman, “I could tell you were in needing of some assistants.”

“You have no idea,” the director muttered. Taking a glass of chardonnay from a passing waiter, he sipped at it, “I really appreciate the saving.”

“Any time, Takanori,” John murmured, caressing the other’s cheek; “do you think I could possibly cash in on that dance now?”

“Mr. Matheson, I was wondering when you were going to appear,” the blonde came from the crowd. An arm going around the brunette’s waist, he held his hand out for the other in what almost seemed like a friendly handshake.

“Of course,” John shook the hand stiffly, “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world; Mr. Suzuki.”

Tensing, Ruki looked up to the blonde, gaping. This entire time and he hadn’t realized it, “Mr. Suzuki?”

Laughing, the man rubbed the back of his neck, “ah, I suppose that ruins the midnight surprise.”

Stepping back from the hold, Ruki looked between the two men, the blood draining from his face; he cleared his throat, “excuse me for a moment.”

The blonde blinked in slight worry, “is everything alright?”

“I just need some air,” he answered quickly, dashing through the crowd.

How had he not realized that the man was Reita the entire time? Did he not know the man well enough, to actually pick him out from a crowd of masked guests? Did Reita not know him well enough to realize that it had been him the entire time? Did they truly not know one another at all, to pick one another out from a crowd?

“Ruki, are you alright?” Kai came out rushing with a cup of water, taking his mask off.

“I’m fine; I’m okay,” he breathed, taking off his own mask and wiping at his forehead. Ruki exhaled sharply, “I- actually, no; no, I’m not fine.”

“Why, what’s wrong; what happened?”

“The entire time; this whole time,” he couldn’t get the words out. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, “my date is Reita. It was him the entire time and I didn’t know it.”

“Okay,” Kai drawled softly. He shrugged, “how did you recognize him?”

“One of my old bosses is here; he came up while we were talking and John let his name slip.”

“What’s his name?”

“Suzuki; Akira Suzuki,” Ruki answered, taking the offered cup of water.

“No way!” the caterer exclaimed, quieting when the other guests looked to him. Kai lowered his voice as he huddled closer to his friend, “You mean I’ve been catering your boyfriend’s events this entire time? I’ve met him and didn’t even fucking know it?”

The director chuckled, “apparently.”

“Wow, small world,” Kai commented, looking to the door, stiffening, “he’s coming this way.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Ruki indeed see that Reita was coming towards him; looking extremely concerned. Quickly putting his mask back on, he pointed to Kai, “Don’t say a word.”

“What! Are you fucking serious, Ruki,” Kai hissed, looking back to the door, the blonde having been stopped by a guest. He smacked him upside the head, “just tell him it’s you. Quit be such a fucking pussy. Jesus, you’ve slept with the man for crying out loud; twice since he’s been here.”

“Your right,” he winced, rubbing the side of his head.

“Hey,” Reita came up, still worried, “are you alright? You didn’t look well.”

“I’m fine,” Ruki smiled, fixing his mask quickly.

The blonde glanced to Kai, who smiled and walked a few feet away. Taking a deep breath, he questioned worriedly, “it’s because of who I am, isn’t it?”

“No,” the brunette nearly exclaimed. Clearing his throat he grabbed the man by the hand, “It was a surprise but that’s not it at all, really. It just,” he stopped, glancing to Kai who gave him a thumb up, Ruki took a deep breath, “I probably should have realized it was you.”

Reita blinked in confusion, “why do you say that?”

Ruki laughed, “jeez, and I thought **_I_** was dense. Reita, it’s **_me_**.”

The man was still obviously confused, his brown eyes searching the face of the other; realization suddenly dawning over his face. Reita straight away removed his mask; he began to apologize, “Ruki, oh my God, I’m so sorry! I didn’t even realize.”

“You and me both,” Ruki chuckled, removing his mask. Fixing his hair, he tugged the other for a quick kiss, laughing, “Surprise.”

Running a hand through his hair with a shake of his head, the elder groaned. A quick look over to Kai and then back to Ruki, he shook his head a sudden look of panic, “I swear, this entire time, my intentions- I just- this isn’t what it seems, I swear. Your friend- I just-”

Snorting at the other in total alarm, he calmed the other down, “Reita, its fine. You made it clear at the beginning of the night and just so you know, I was absolutely set on not letting anything happen because at the end of the night, I was coming back to you.”

Chest swelling, the elder pulled the other to him and kissed him deeply, “I should have known it was you. I’m an idiot for not seeing that it was you the entire time.”

“You were just enthralled by my quirkiness,” the brunette joked. Waving his friend over, his smiled brightened as the two men nodded to one another, “the two of you have already met but this is more unofficial business. Kai, this is Reita; Reita, this is Kai.”

“Nice to meet you,” the blonde chuckled; “again.”

“Yeah, again,” the man returned the laugh.

“Akira dear,” the older woman who had stopped the son and father fight came from inside; she smiled brightly to Ruki and Kai, “oh, and who are these fine young gentlemen?”

The blonde gave an apologetic shrug to the two, “Mother, this Takanori Matsumoto and his friend Yutaka Uke.”

“Ah, so you are the one who has captured my son’s heart,” she smiled to the brunette, who blushed beneath the adoring gaze. She walked up to the young man, “I am Ayako Suzuki.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” he bowed respectfully, feeling uncomfortably intimidated by meeting the mother of the man he loved. In his mind, it was a whole new level of intimacy.

“Takanori will be dining with us, mother,” Reita informed the woman as he gazed at the brunette with adoration.

“Very good, it’ll be wonderful to have you at our table Takanori so you and I can talk,” she winked before she shot her son a very pointed look. “Don’t be **_too_** long dear, we’ll be beginning the auction soon and with these turn of events, I’m to assume you’ll want your named pull, yes?”

Fidgeting beneath the teasing gaze of his mother, Reita nodded, “yeah, I think I will be now.”

The woman gave Takanori a wink and she gave her son a teasing look, “I’ll get it taken care of Akira. It’s nice to know that my son is no longer the play-”

“Mom,” Reita had a look of mortified panic, “please.”

“Okay, okay,” she laughed, another wink to Ruki before headed back inside.

“I like her,” Kai commented, gazing after the woman.

“That’s Reita’s mother, Kai,” Ruki jabbed his friend in the ribs, “quit it.”

He pouted, slipping his mask back on, “I need to check on my staff. See you when they serve.”

 “Wait, Kai,” Reita stopped the man, “I would appreciate if you would sit with us as well. We have an open seat at the table.”

“Thank you, Reita, I’d like that,” Kai smiled, winking at Ruki before going in.

Now left alone with his blonde lover, Ruki looked up at him, he drawled with a slight smirk, “So, when you met me at the last party, what **_were_** your intentions then?”

Grunting, Reita hopped up onto the edge, head hanging dejectedly, “Tonight really isn’t what it seems. I mean, at first, I thought that… at first it was but, after I saw you, after spending time with you, I couldn’t do it.”

Ruki did understood what Reita was trying to say to him. The man completely understood because in the beginning, it was what he was doing. They were both trying to fill in holes; they were trying to fill the broken cracks in their hearts. Ruki had understood that and he couldn’t hate the man for it. Leaning back against the ledge his lover sat on, Ruki looked up into the sky, stars barely visible.

Biting on his lip, he reached over and took the CEO’s hand, questioning, “Now that’s out of the way, do you by chance know who the woman wearing the black and maroon mask with the matching dress is?”

The man blinked, thinking before he cocked a brow, “brown hair?”

“Yeah,” Ruki nodded, turning to the man, “she’s got this accent; I can’t quite place it.”

The man hissed through his teeth in aggravation, “ ** _That_** woman is Maria Ortega, my **_ex_** -fiancé. She wasn’t thrilled **_at all_** when I called the engagement off. I’ve dealt with her father on several proposals and I had met her handful of times. And I won’t lie; Maria and I did mess around a bit during that time.”

There was a bitter feeling in the pit of his stomach at the thought that the Reita had slept with the woman but he really couldn’t say anything or could he be angry about it. It was something long before he had came along. Still though, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

“An engagement, a little archaic isn’t it?” the brunette retorted snidely, brushing off the info.

“That’s what I said when I found out about it,” Reita snorted.

“Although, you can’t really blame her for being upset,” the brunette suddenly purred, motioning for the man to slip off the ledge. Adjusting the lapels of the tux jacket, his lashes fluttered, “You are quite the catch, Mr. Suzuki.”

Shuddering as that seductive gaze captured his own gaze, Reita caressed the smooth face, “no, you are.”

Biting on his lip, Ruki lowered his gaze to play with button of the jacket, “can I ask you something else?”

“Of course, baby.”

“Your father,” he began finally lifting his eyes, not missing the way dark eyes narrowed. Moving his hands upward Ruki fingered the white bow tie with a grimace, “is your father homophobic?”

The young entrepreneur gave a short laugh, slipping his arm around the slim body, he dipped his head to steal a quick kiss. Pressing his forehead against the other, he shook his head, “It’s not so much as that. The old man just doesn’t like the idea of his **_only_** pride and joy being interested in a man. It just rubs him the wrong way.”

“Okay, so he doesn’t like the idea of **_you_** in the company of men?” the brunette snorted bitterly.

Tilting the diamond shaped face upwards, kissing the man soundlessly, Reita breathed over quivering lips, “no, just the company of **_one_** man.”

“Me,” Ruki breathed out wistfully. Wrapping his arms around the waist of Reita when he gave a nod, he pouted, “What’s he got against me?”

“Nothing, he’s just- he’s just difficult.”

Taking the hand, he pressed light kisses to the palm of the warm hand. Nuzzling his cheek against the hand, Ruki suddenly smiled, “well, your dad is just gonna have to deal.” Tugging the blonde back for an intense kiss, rubbing his body against the other, earning a groan, “how about you and I sneak out; have our own party.”

“I would like to Ruki, but-” the business man cut off with a groan when a hand went to the front of his pants. Gasping sharply as he was groped, “I think we can do that.”

“I’m glad you could see it my way,” Ruki bit his lip, slipping his mask back on.

Strolling past his lover with a teasing smirk, he made sure to make his hips sway as went. It didn’t take much to entice Reita into following him back into the party, Ruki made his way through the crowd, towards an empty hallway. A glance over his shoulder with a grin, he took off running. Not getting far, he laughed out as Reita grabbed him around the waist, yanking back and pinning him up against the wall.

Groaning into the heated kiss, fingers threaded through the styled blonde hair to deepen the kiss. The brunette lifted off his feet, allowing him to encircle his legs around the waist. Whimpering softly as Reita flexed his hips, letting Ruki feel the bulge.

“Akira, what in the hell are you doing?”

Immediately letting Ruki drop to his feet, Reita acknowledged the person breathily, “father.”

The elder man tore his mask off; glaring at the brunette leaned against the wall, desperately trying to catch their breath. Nose flaring, he snarled, “I told you to stay away from my son, you filthy-”

Reita bristled, “Don’t you fucking talk to him that way!”

Shoving away from the wall and not one to let someone fight his battles, Ruki snarled, “Go to hell. Why don’t you go and fuck with someone else for a change?”

“You shut up you fucking slut,” the man began to stalk towards the two.

“Alright, that is enough!” the blonde barked. Getting in-between his father and Ruki, he immediately shoved the elder back, “Parent or not, I will **_not_** let you talk to him that way!”

“How dare you, you **_will not_** speak to me this way, Akira,” the man stated fiercely at his son. Sneering as his gaze fell on the other that was currently being shielded, voice full of absolute rage, “You would pick this little whore over family.”

“Fuck you,” Ruki spat at being called a whore, stumbling back suddenly with a glare when his lover had firmly pushed him back.

A quick glare at the brunette, the elder growled, “You would seriously pick **_him_** over family?”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Reita threatened, grabbing his father by the jacket. Suddenly shoving his parent back, getting him away from Ruki, “You don’t get to pull that fucking family shit with me. Because if it was actually family you cared about, you wouldn’t care that I **_love_** him! I love Ruki and like it or not, you **_will_** have to accept that.”

Ruki stared up at the blonde in utter shock. The man he loved just declared his love for **_him_** , in front of his own father. He didn’t know what to do or to think.

Taking a deep breath after all the shouting, Reita shook his head, “you know what, I don’t care about what you think anymore father.” Taking the brunette by the hand and pulling him past his father with a growl, “we’re leaving.”

“Akira, get back here,” the older man hollered after his son. “Akira! Don’t you walk away from me!”

The blonde stormed back into the hall while Ruki could merely gaze after the other and let himself be pulled along. A soft murmuring came over the crowd as the pair made their way through the mass, the blonde coming to abrupt stop, nearly causing Ruki to smack right into him. Blinking, he looked around the body, his eyes narrowing as he saw the reason; Maria, Reita’s ex-fiancé.

“Akira,” she said sweetly as she removed her mask. Giving a sway of her dress, she smiled, “How have you been Akira? You haven’t returned any of my calls.”

“And it wasn’t by accident,” Reita snorted, removing his own mask. Sighing, he combed fingers through his hair, “Miss Ortega, I really don’t **_want_** to or do I **_have_** the time. I’ve had enough to deal with this evening. So, if you’d excuse **_us_** , we are in a hurry to leave.”

“You’re leaving your own party?” she hummed, giving Ruki a quick glare. Maria smiled as she gave a tilt of her head, “I thought that we could talk and-”

“Oh Jesus, why can’t you take a fucking hint,” Ruki stepped forward with a hiss. Cocking a hip, he looked the woman up and down, “the engagement is off; get it through your thick, pretty little fucking head and leave with a little fucking dignity.”

“Ruki,” Reita tried scolding his lover, flinching back when all that fieriness was turned on him.

“No, women like this **_need_** to hear the harsh truth.” Turning back to the young woman, the brunette leveled his voice, “the engagement is **_off_**. You were just another **_notch_** on his bed post and they were good times, I’m sure **_but_** , that’s all it was. So, I’d appreciate if you’d back off and leave **_my man_** alone.”

The woman’s mouth fell open in shock. The two men took the opportunity to brush past her and the entire crowd began to buzz about what had just happened. The two making it outside, Reita stopped Ruki and yanked him in for kiss.

Tugging on the soft locks of Ruki, Reita groaned, “That was so fucking sexy babe. You calling me **_your_** man made me want to fuck you right then and there.”

Quivering at the roughness of the man’s voice, he laughed, “I think you’ve forgotten, I’m not into voyeurism.”

“Oh, I hadn’t forgotten,” Reita chuckled, “I just figured I could change your mind.”

Rolling his eyes, he pushed the other to the Escalade, “get in the car pervert.”

“God I love when you get bossy,” he hummed, mouth finding the filigree neck, “the hotel or your place?”

“Mine,” Ruki gasped as they somehow got into the back of the SUV, “it’s closer and Kai won’t be back for awhile, so we got the whole place to ourselves. We might as well make the most of it.”

The brunette had missed the look on the blonde’s face after his comment. Not realizing how those words had sounded to the man. Ruki smiled brightly at his lover, cuddling into the side and an arm came around his shoulder; holding him close.

Arriving to his apartment, Reita had let Jason go back to the hotel for the night. The pair making up to the apartment with ardent kisses and teasing touches, Ruki could feel himself just melting. His CEO touching him just the way he likes; kissing him just the way he wanted.

Pulling away as he got the door unlocked, Ruki bit his lip, “You want anything to drink? I got a couple of beers, some cheap wine and water, of course.”

Not missing the way that sweet voice had trembled, Reita smiled, “water’s fine.”

Nodding, Ruki set his mask and other belongings off onto the dining room table. Going into the kitchen for a glass and filling it nearly to the rim. Taking a shuddering breath, he went out to his living where Reita had removed his jacket and draped it over the back of his couch. Handing off the glass of water, he removed his own jacket while the blonde begun looking around his home with interest.

Leaning against the back of his couch, brown eyes watched the CEO gaze at framed photos, one’s he hadn’t gotten to see before. Photo’s the brunette had of his family back in Japan, a family he missed every now and then. Ruki smiled sheepishly when Reita picked up a picture of him when he was sixteen years old; when he was a rebel.

“Never had you pegged you for a Sex Pistols listener,” Reita commented as he set the frame back.

Ruki could only laugh. Walking around his couch, he came up behind the other and embraced him. Oh, how he would love to stay like this forever; just the two of them.

“Ruki,” Reita broke the silence. Turning in the embrace, he wore a broken expression, “the day after tomorrow, I’ll be going back to LA, you know that right?”

Turning his head so he wouldn’t have to look his lover in the eyes, “yeah, I knew you’d leave soon.”

Clearing his throat, he tried to smile, “I still have a company to run.”

“I know,” Ruki murmured as he pulled away, still keeping his head low. He hadn’t forgotten about that at all; no, he was absolutely aware that he would have to leave.

“Don’t make that face baby,” he tightened his hold on the body. Nuzzling his nose in the soft hair, inhaling the sweet scent of the other, he kissed the top of his head, “we have a few days. We’ll make the most of it. Just focus on me for the next forty-eight hours, baby.”

“Yeah,” he tried to smile but it was weak. Blinking back the stinging, Ruki nodded more firmly. They had time together, the rest they would figure out. Suddenly, the entire night sky erupted in different sparks of colors; blue, red, yellow, green and purple.

“Happy new year, baby,” the blonde whispered.

“Happy new year,” Ruki sighed as they shared a kiss.

Releasing a content sound when they had parted, a hand traced the smooth jaw, Reita let his voice lower huskily, “so, what shall we do now?”

Unable to really get himself in the teasing mood, the younger had to ask, “What happens after you leave?”

“What do you mean, Ruki?”

“Will we still be with each other?”

Reita blinked as he thought it over, taking a deep breath, he pulled the body into a hug. “Ruki, we’ll figure it out later but right now, right now I just want to spend all my time with you.”

“I don’t know if I can just leave it like that Reita,” Ruki spoke up honestly, going and sitting on the couch, he just shook his head. “I mean, Reita, after everything, it just seems like we’re okay now.”

“Just okay,” the blonde deadpanned. Taking a seat beside the brunette, he brushed hair from the face, he took a deep breath, “I’d say we’re better than okay right now. I know what you’re trying to say Ruki but this isn’t something we can just figure out over night. We don’t need to make any hasty decisions just yet.”

Reita was right. This was something they had to figure out. Smiling, he nodded, “your right.”

“We’ll figure us out,” pressing kisses along the exposed neck, Reita tugged Ruki to him. Sharing a deep kiss, “I’ll wait however long it takes.”

“You’re such a sweet talker,” Ruki laughed breathily, pinching the tip of Reita’s nose. Standing back up, he bit his lip seductively, “C’mon, I wanna show you bed.”

“Well, lead the way,” Reita grinned, the other pulling him to his feet, “I’m all yours.”


	11. Affair XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even more thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the long wait! I have been so busy! Recently quit my job to search for a better paying job and I’ve been traveling quite a bit. Things seemed to have settled down a bit and so, I should be able to resume in posting some of my old works.
> 
> One more chapter for Temptation and then, I'll go on to posting the short stories that follow.
> 
> Anyways, on to the new chapter!  
> Enjoy!

It had been nearing three in the morning and the two lovers were in a tangled mess atop of Ruki’s bed, embracing one another tightly. The rest of the New Year festivities were forgotten as they basked in the familiar company of the other. Although, the physical comfort of his lover did not ease Ruki’s restless mind into slumber, it did nothing to shake him of the uncertainties of tomorrow; of the undeniable truth.

Snuggling in closer to the body of the CEO, he nuzzled his face into the crook of the man’s neck, inhaling his scent deeply. The brunette is going to miss him deeply. Because, if he liked it or not, this was going to be the last time for them. Ruki hated to admit it but, there was no way he was going to quit his job with the publishing company and just uproot himself after settling in. And he hoped that Reita wouldn’t ask him to follow; to leave with him back to LA. There was just no way he would be able to do it, not after making so many friends at the company and even outside of work; it just couldn’t leave.

Gazing up into Reita’s sleeping face; he swallowed the lump that had formed as he brushed some strands of hair from his lovers face. He did love Reita but he there was no way he was about to give up everything he had worked so hard for. Especially after everything, Ruki just couldn’t trust himself because deep down, he had the gut feeling that he would punish Reita endlessly.

Rolling over to stare up at the dark ceiling, he heaved a heavy sigh. Perhaps he was merely over thinking everything.

“What are you doing awake, baby,” Reita mumbled as he rolled over to pull the other to him. Pressing a kiss to his lover’s temple, “You should sleep.”

Easing out of the hold, Ruki swung his legs over the edge of the bed as he sat up. Thankful it was dark because his thoughts had torn him up, doing his best to keep voice as steady, “I know, I’m just thirsty; I’ll be right back.”

Slowly pushing up onto his elbows, the blonde watched the other pull on a pair of sweats and walk out of the room. Reita hadn’t missed the troubled look on Ruki’s face and so quickly, he got out of bed and found his boxers. Pulling the article of clothing on, he quietly crept out of the room, hearing the soft clinking of a glass cup, followed by the sink faucet.

Walking down the hallway, he came to a stop in the living room, all the lights were out; the only source a faint glow coming in from the streetlights. The home was nearly quiet, except for the faint sniffling in the kitchen. The sound made Reita’s shoulders fall and his heart ache at the sound.

Taking a deep breath, he headed into the kitchen where he’d found the brunette leaning over the kitchen sink, shoulders shaking. The blonde knew as to why his lover was so distraught, he knew why Ruki was unable to sleep. It was the very same reason as to why he couldn’t sleep.

“Ruki,” he finally spoke up softly; lovingly. Stepping further into the room until he was able to reach out and he gently turned the man to him. Biting his lip when Ruki refused to look at him, he wiped away the streaming tear stains before pressing kisses to wet lashes, he hushed his lover, “It’ll be okay, I promise it’ll be okay. Please, don’t cry baby.”

Pushing away from the embrace, Ruki’s voice shuddered, “There’s no way you can keep that kind of promise.”

“Maybe not, but,” he emphasized with a smile as he held the other’s face carefully, “We can try and make this work. Ruki, after everything, I would never-”

“Where you going to ask me to just quit and leave it all behind?” he decided to just ask out right.

Head dropping, he bit the inside of his cheek with a hesitance. Taking a deep breath, Retia combed his fingers through the soft hair, “Yes, I’m not gonna lie to you. It- I had thought about it, but, I knew that would be me being absolutely selfish.”

“You were going to ask me to just, pick up and leave?”

“I’m not going to say it didn’t cross my mind,” Reita murmured uneasily. Hand falling, he gently rubbed the man’s arm, doing his best to soothe him, “I won’t though. I’m sure that we can work something out, Ruki.”

“How can we possibly work this out, Reita?”

“I don’t know right now, but, we will,” the CEO kept trying to assure him. Pulling Ruki to him for a warm embrace, pressing small kisses to his face, “we can visit each other; pick up the phone and call. We can figure it out as we go.”

“You make this seem like it’s going to be so easy,” Ruki laughed bitterly. Pushing once more out of the hold, he turned to the sink and leaned against it, “no, this is- this just isn’t going to work.”

“What are you talking about, of course it can. We **_will_** make it work,” the blonde replied sternly. Taking a hold of the brunette and turning him back around, caressing his face, “I promise that we’ll make this work, baby. I’d be damned if I don’t try to make **_us_** work.”

Both hands balled into tight fists, he released a shuddering sob as he tried not to scream at the top of his lungs and shoved the man away, “Damn it Reita, this isn’t going to work! It’s not going to fucking work! Just because you’re rich does not mean that you can fucking buy your happiness! You cannot fucking buy me and think you can lie to me about it!”

Reita was completely taken back by the sudden outburst; he tried to wrap his arms back around the shorter only to blink with hurt when his attempt was shoved away. Relenting, he gave a shake of his head as he tried to talk to the brunette, “Ruki, I’m- I wasn’t- I’m not trying to buy or- lie to you about any of it. I-I really want-”

“Y’know what, I’m not going to beat around the bush with you, I’m not going to pretend that **_any_** of this is okay,” Ruki finally let the tears fall. Swallowing the constricting burn in his throat, he began to cry hard, unaware that his best friend was now witness to this moment. Wiping at his eyes harshly, he sobbed harder, “I’m not going with you. I’m not going to quit my job for you. I worked too fucking hard to get back on feet after you; I’m not doing this!”

“Ruki, I-I would have nev-”

“You have! You’ve lied to me about your engagement,” Ruki suddenly spat, feeling nothing but fear and frustration well up inside of him. Lifting his gaze, he let all his pent up emotions loose on the CEO, shoving at the chest of the man, “Not once did you try to contact me! After everything your father did; paying me off like I was some piece of trash! I had to quit my fucking job because I felt fucking humiliated! I felt **_absolutely_** humiliated because of **_you_**! And this whole time; this whole fucking time, you never tried to call to apologize, to check up on me; you didn’t try to do anything!”

“Ruki, after you walked out,” Reita started only to hesitate. Taking a deep breath and letting it go slowly, breaking the intense gaze as he leaned against the kitchen counter. Shaking his head as he began to give the man he loved his reason and in such a long time, he used Ruki’s actual name, “Takanori, after you walked out; after you left me, I didn’t even know where to begin to apologize to you. I had fucked up royally, Taka; I had hurt you.”

It took a lot to fight back the tears, but, Reita couldn’t fight the cold constricting feeling in his chest or that burning lump in his throat. After everything earlier in the evening had seemed so perfect, this current moment scared him. He felt absolutely scared out of his mind.

Taking one more deep breath, he finally lifted his head and gazed at Ruki who was staring back at him, waiting. Swallowing down the lump, Reita forced his voice to be steady, “Believe me Taka, when I say that I feel absolutely guilty about all of this. I’ve- I have **_never_** felt this strongly about anyone and quite frankly, it scares me that **_I_** can love someone so much.”

“But, it’s not enough,” Ruki murmured brokenly, not missing the way those dark eyes saddened.

Swallowing down the burning in his chest, he took a shuddering breath, “Taka, I know what you want me to say but I can’t. I worked hard for this company. As much as I would like to give it up for you, I just- I can’t, Taka. I had worked so hard for this.”

Sniffling, he suddenly pointed towards the front door, “You need to leave.”

“Takanori, please, let’s just talk about this.”

“Get out,” his voice rose suddenly. Taking a step back into the counter when Reita stepped forward, he screamed, “Get your shit and get out! I don’t want to see you ever again.”

Reita felt his entire body go cold and his expression broke with utter grief. Although, he had swallowed down his pride and his broken heart, nodding without an argument, he turned and walked out of the kitchen with his tail between his legs.  Brushing right past a stunned Kai and headed right back to the room to gather up his clothes.

Finishing in buttoning up his shirt, Reita quickly phoned his driver who answered straightaway. Clearing his throat to keep his voice steady, he sat on the edge of bed, “Jason, come to Mr. Matsumoto’s apartment.”

There was a short hesitance on the line before the man spoke up, “Yes sir, I’ll be there in ten.”

One more look around the room, the blonde quickly slipped his shoes on and stood. Swallowing back the nervousness, he walked back out to the front of the apartment. Keeping his eyes lowered as he again brushed past Kai who gazed at him worriedly and taking a quick glance at Ruki who had kept his back turned.

Taking his jacket from the nearby coat rack, the CEO stopped with his hand on the doorknob. Licking his lips as he let his head hang, he finally spoke up miserably, voice cracking, “Ruki, I just want you to know that, while it did cross my mind, I wouldn’t have asked you to give it up for me. Not after everything I had put you through.”

Ruki felt his heart shatter at the soft spoke words, whirling around just in time to watch the front door fall shut. Falling against the counter, the brunette buried his face into both hands, body quaking as he cried harder. Trying desperately to convince himself it was for the best because whether he liked it or not, the distance would had eventually torn them apart.

One more look at the door, Kai finally went to his friend and put a comforting arm around the shaking shoulders. Rather than trying to speak words of comfort or words of wisdom, he led his best friend out of the kitchen and down the hall, “C’mon Taka, let’s get you to bed.”

Pulling the jacket around him tighter as he waited out on the street, Reita kept fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. The man was a muddled mess of emotions as he stood out in the cold like a stray. For the first time ever, he felt like the world was ending and there was absolutely nothing he could do about.

The first tickle of a tear, he hastily and harshly wiped at it. Hiding the remnants of his broken heart as the familiar SUV pulled up.

Putting the vehicle into park, Jason promptly got out to frown out the broken state of his boss, he greeted him warily, “sir, is everything alright?”

“Its fine,” Reita found himself muttering uncharacteristically. Taking a deep breath as his driver opened the passenger door for him, he grimaced, “call the airport and get flight plans for as soon as possible back to LA.”

Jason blinked stunned as his employer got into the SUV but he didn’t question him, “yes sir, I’ll call them on our way to the hotel.”

Releasing a shuddering breath as the door was shut; he quickly took his cell out of his pocket and dialed the hotel. Swallowing back that constricting feeling in his throat as the front desk answered, “Yes, this is Akira Suzuki. I will be checking out upon my arrival to the hotel.”

As the two men arrived back to the hotel, they went and made work of packing their belongings. It took them no longer than fifteen minutes to have their bags packed and Jason having their luggage loaded into the back of the SUV while Reita took care of their rooms.

Just as the two men got back into the vehicle, Reita’s cell rang and he answered quickly, “Akira Suzuki.”

“ _Mr. Suzuki_ ,” the man spoke up professionally, “ _the flight plans have been authorized to leave as soon as possible but I feel we will need to leave within the hour, as a very large snow storm is moving in_.”

“Very well Thomas, we will be arriving to the airport in forty minutes,” he replied with a look into the sky as snow began to fall.

“ _We will see you then_ ,” the man hung up.

“Jason,” Reita called to his driver, see him glance into the rearview mirror, “we’ll need to be quick.”

The man nodded, “Yes sir.”

As the rising morning sun shined through the windows of the apartment, Kai had shifted awake with a groan, having slept on the couch the rest night. While he had been worried about his friend, he had mostly been hoping that Reita would come back to the apartment with determination to make things right between them. The man hadn’t though and the caterer honestly couldn’t blame him; he was a broken man.

Sitting up to stretch out the knotted in his back, he froze  at the faint sound of the bathroom shower running and he wondered how long his dear friend had been in there. Shoulders falling at the thought, he pushed off the couch with another stretch of his arms and headed into the kitchen to find a full cold pot of coffee. Heart hurting for his friend, he took it and dumped it into the sink, washing away the remnants of the night.

Making short work of a fresh pot of coffee, he turned to the refrigerator, gathering food for a small breakfast, knowing very well that the other wouldn’t want to eat much anyways. Regardless of that though, Kai wasn’t about to let his friend fall into a state of depression. No, he was going to make damned sure that the man kept smiling at the end of the day.

“Morning,” Ruki greeted softly after finally working up the nerve to leave the bathroom.

Raising his head to greet his friend with a smile, it fell at the sight of the red puffy eyes and Kai had to look away. Focusing back at preparing breakfast, he kept his voice as natural as possible, “Morning. How you feel?”

“Absolute shit,” was his cynical retort. Taking a seat at his dining room table, he let his head drop into his hands while Kai set a cup of coffee in front him. Taking both hands away, he stared at the cup before lifting his gaze, “aren’t you going to pull some words of wisdom out of your ass or something? Aren’t you going to tell me-”

“That’s not what you need right now, Taka,” Kai cut off the cynicism as he set a bowl of yogurt in front of the brunette.

“What if I really do need it?”

“You don’t Ruki,” he sighed heavily, setting a plate with an omelet down. Turning back to the stove, he quickly made himself a plate and then, sat beside his friend at the table, “no, you don’t need that right now. What you really need is a shoulder to cry on. Not someone to tell you if you were right or wrong.”

“But I care about what you think, Kai,” those bright eyes filled with tears as he began to sniffle and sob softly, “do you think I was right?”

Pausing mid bite at the pathetically spoke question, Kai lowered his fork with sigh. Taking a moment to mull over his words before finally looking the other in the eye, “Ruki, from what I had heard, you hadn’t forgiven Reita one bit. He’s told you how much he’s realized how badly he had hurt you. Done what he could to earn your forgiveness as well as your trust.”

“I have forgiven him,” Ruki tried to defend himself but it was weak.

“Then why did you throw it in his face the way you did?” Kai asked sternly, not surprised by the way Ruki dipped his head. A solemn shake of his head, sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh, “If the goal had been to hurt him, you achieved your goal. You hurt him; **_deeply_**.”

The guilt slammed into him, making his chest constrict, making his voice waver, “I don’t know what I was doing Kai. I don’t know why I said any of it.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Biting on his lip, he nodded, “yeah.”

“What did you want Reita to say to you?”

Biting harder on his lip, Ruki thought hard on the question before shrugging his shoulders, “I don’t know what I wanted him to say.”

“You do to know,” Kai snapped with sudden irritation and feeling absolutely disappointed, “You do know and you just don’t want to admit to yourself of how selfish you are being. And because you can’t say it out loud, I will. You wanted him to tell you that he’d give everything up for you.”

Tears streamed down his face as the cold hard truth was splayed out to him because it was true. Ruki had wanted Reita to say it; he had selfishly hurt the man because he couldn’t get what he wanted from the blonde. But, when the man had said his final words to him, he felt disgusted with himself. Reita wasn’t going to ask him for anything, except to make it work. Make **_them_** work.

“I fucked up, didn’t I?”

“I think you **_both_** did,” the caterer huffed tiredly. Reaching over with smile, Kai squeezed Ruki’s arm, “I think that you both let your desires determine the direction of your relationship before the two of you could actually start over.”

Suddenly the house phone rang, interrupting their serious conversation. A quick glance over, Kai stood to answer, “Hello, Matsumoto residents.” Pausing for a moment as the other person spoke, he chirped brightly, “Ah, Mrs. Suzuki, good morning. Uh- yes, he’s here but-”

“I don’t want to talk to anyone,” Ruki muttered tiredly.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to tell the woman, “I’m sorry but- oh, uh- hold on; Ruki, Reita’s mother would **_really_** like to speak with you.”

Quickly wiping at his nose, the brunette stumbled to his feet a wave of nerve washing over him. Shakily taking the phone from Kai, Ruki cleared his throat to mask his miserable voice, “Good morning Mrs. Suzuki; is there something I can help with you?”

“ _Good morning to you Takanori_ ,” the woman greet cheerily, “ _I’m sorry to call you so early in the morning, but, I would love if you could have lunch with me this afternoon_.”

“Today?” he squeaked at the invitation, “lunch; today?”

“ _Yes, today, Takanori dear_ ,” the woman giggled at the flabbergasted tone of the man. “ _Please say yes, there is **so** much I would love to talk to you about_.”

Turning to his friend with look of panic, he answered in panic, “uh- of course, lunch will be fine.”

“ _That’s so wonderful_!” she exclaimed excitedly. “ _Don’t tell Akira he’d be absolutely against it; so let’s keep this little date between the two of us. Meet me at the Assaggio Ristorante at noon_.”

“Y-Yes, of course,” his voice quivered, “I’ll meet you there at noon. Goodbye.”

Hanging up, he turned to his gawking friend who nearly shrieked in shock, “What the hell Taka? Why are you going to lunch with her?”

“I don’t know why I agreed!” the reality of the situation dawning on Ruki as he felt the color draining from his face, “I just- I panicked! I mean-she just sounded so- I panicked!”

“Well, you are now officially screwed,” Kai shook his head. Suddenly laughing as he watched his friend beginning to panic even more, “shit Ruki, when she finds out that the two of you aren’t together-”

“You really aren’t helping Kai!”

Hundreds of miles away, the young blonde CEO sat in his office at his desk, despite having given nearly the entire building the day off. He’d been unable to get any form of sleep after the night; rather than being taken home, he’d come straight to the office. The entrepreneur just couldn’t stand being anywhere else, needing the distraction in the form of throwing himself in his work.

Taking a break from the proposals he had been going over furiously, he rubbed at his temples to ease the oncoming migraine. The lack of sleep was catching up with him but it did nothing to sway him from throwing himself into his work. Jumping suddenly at the sound of his ringtone, he groaned.

Taking his phone, he swiped his thumb across the screen with a glance at the call ID, snapping, “What do you want Kouyou?”

“ _Whoa, jeez_ ,” the other man chuckled into the phone, “ _I was just calling to say Happy New Years. Jesus, don’t need to be an ass about_ it.”

Rolling his eyes, Reita went back to reading and signing off papers, “What do you want?”

“ _I was just calling to see if you would like to go to Aspen with me for the weekend_ ,” the man revealed excitedly, “ _You could bring your significant other that I just can’t get you to shut up about._ ”

Stopping to rub his temple, he sighed, “he’s not my anything. We’re no longer seeing each other.”

“ _What happened_?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he lowered his tone.

“ _Okay_ ,” the man said, his voice suddenly becoming cheery again, “ _In that case, you should come along anyways. Pick you up a nice little number, take them back to your room to release all_ -”

Ending the call, Reita hissed, “what a fucking ass.”

There was a knock on the door several minutes later, it opening and Jason came walking in, “Your father is on line one, Mr. Suzuki.”

“Fucking great,” he snapped. Picking up the phone and pressing the flashing button, “what do you want now?”

“ _Boy, you better watch your tone when speaking to me_ ,” the man snapped back.

Grip tightening on the phone, keeping his voice steady, “What do you want father?”

“ _Akira_ ,” his father greeted him curtly. A moment of silence befor the elder began to lecture his son in a stern tone, “ _Where did your mother and I go wrong with you? The way you speak to me is so disrespectful. Ever since **that** man; he has corrupted your judgment with his filth_ -”

“Just stop it father,” he cut him off tiredly.

Reita couldn’t take any more of it, he felt absolutely exhausted of it all. He was tired of the fights with his father about Ruki. He was just done.

Taking a deep breath as he decidedly told his heartbreak to the elder, “You’ll no longer have to worry about it. He- We are no longer seeing each other. In the end, you got what you wanted.”

“ _That’s so good to hear, Akira_ ,” the man replied smartly, making Reita even hurt more. Rather than asking anything about his son, he suddenly changed the subject, “ _Now that you’ve got that filthy distraction out of the way, I advise that you **strongly** consider Shiroyama’s proposal_ -”

The CEO couldn’t believe it. Despite knowing full well that he was suffering, his father hadn’t bothered asking if he was okay, he hadn’t even hinted he had cared about his well being. Not that Reita should be surprised by it, it still hurt and so, he became furious and defensive.

“Is that really all you fucking care about,” he barked into the phone. Getting to his feet and slamming a hand down on the desk, sending papers to the floor, “Is that all you fucking care about! Is that really all that is important to you? Well let me make this **_very_** fucking clear, Yuu Shiroyama is getting no part of my company! **_You_** have no fucking say in it either!”

“ _Now you listen here_ -”

“No!” Reita roared, startling his father into silence. “You are my father **_only_** by name; not flesh and blood. And since **_image_** is all you care about, do me the favor of keeping your fucking nose out of my business affairs. You and Shiroyama will not have any part of **_my_** company.”

There was long moment of silence before his father spat into the phone with as much venom as he possessed, “ _Had I known you’d be such a disgrace, I would have left you to rot in that orphanage_.”

Jumping slightly at the abrupt end of the phone call, Reita shut his eyes at the familiar stinging of tears as he gently placed the phone back on the receiver. Taking a shuddering breath, he looked up at Jason who had remained in the office doorway. Forcing out a breathy laugh, “I think this takes the cake for the shittiest start to the New Year, wouldn’t you say?”

“If I may sir,” Jason stepped further into the large office as he saw the nod of a go ahead; he gave a shrug of his shoulders, “Perhaps you should take that trip with Mr. Takashima. It may just be what you need.”

One intake of a breath, he slowly took his seat, “maybe.”

Staring at the entrance of the restaurant, Ruki took a deep calming breath before entering. The establishment small enough that he was able to recognize and spot the woman right away and with a nervous smile, he went to greet the woman, “Mrs. Suzuki, how are you?”

“I’m well,” she replied softly, her gaze becoming worried at the sight of the man. Leaning forward as he took his seat, she reached over and squeezed the others hand, “Is everything alright dear? You look like you hadn’t gotten any sleep. Your eyes are puffy.”

“I’m fine,” he assured her hesitantly. Distracting himself as he took a sip of water, he forced a smile, “So, what is it that you would like to talk about, Mrs. Suzuki?”

“You can call me Ayako, dear,” she smiled widely at the man.

Ruki found himself blush at the radiant charming smile and now he knew which parent Reita gotten that smile from. Smiling nervously, he took another quick drink to cool his heated face. They made a bit of small talk about Seattle until their waiter arrived back to their table and they both gave their orders.

“I’m so happy that my Akira found you,” Ayako suddenly declared dreamily.

The man was flustered, “excuse me?”

Laughing at the expression of the younger, she leaned forward with a serene look, “You don’t realize how good you’ve been for my son. Ever since you, he’s- well, I have never seen him as happy as he’s been since he’s found you. I had worried over him because of his trust issues.”

“I um- I’m not sure what-”

“Oh dear Takanori,” the woman sighed. Reaching over to gently brushing the cheek of Ruki before pulling back with a slightly troubled look, “not many people know it, but, Akira is adopted; something his father and I have kept verily close to family and friends.”

Biting on his lip as he had no idea; the CEO had never told him. Reita had never even **_hinted_** at it.

The waiter appeared next to their tables with salads for the both of them. Ayako thanking the man with a nod of her head, she placed the provided napkin on her lap while she waited for the man to step away from their table. The woman hadn’t missed the troubled look at the brunette’s face.

“He came from a rough background; was a very troubled youth. Gave the orphanage all kinds of hell,” she had laughed as she remembered the stories of the counselors. Eyes falling on her plate of greens, she toyed with the leaves of her salad, “but I don’t want you to feel like anything is your fault with what’s taken place between father and son. Akira and my husband will always butt heads.”

“Is it because your son’s adopted?” Ruki had to ask the woman.

“Oh no,” Ayako laughed with a shake of her head, “oh no, not at all. It’s just the way the Suzuki men are; a real headache. Well, my husband in particular.”

Eating a bit of his salad, he chewed thoughtfully as he quickly realized why the woman wanted to have lunch with him. Ayako had wanted to put things out there so as there weren’t going to be any surprises and while he did appreciate it, it made it all that much harder to tell the woman the truth.

“I truly believe that you are the stability he needed in his life,” she unknowingly broke the man’s thoughts with a motherly smile on her lips. “You are what he needed the most. Being the CEO of a company as large as Akira’s, you really do need someone that knows how to take control as well; to help ground you. He needs someone who won’t see him as a meal ticket; he needs someone who will stand beside him.”

“Why doesn’t your husband see it that way?” Ruki muttered bitterly.

“It’s about power and image with him,” she sighed. Setting her fork down and sat back in her chair, “he does love Akira, I know he does; he just sees the thought as a weakness.”

Snorting into his water glass, he rolled his eyes, “no offense, but, your husband is an asshole.”

“Oh, I know it,” she laughed, “I live, sleep and eat with that man.”

Setting his own fork down, Ruki gazed at the plate of greens and finally decided that he should now let the woman know. Taking one more drink to quench his dry mouth, he took a deep breath, “Ayako, I appreciate you telling me all of this, but, I’m sorry to say; your son and I are no longer seeing each other.”

The woman’s face fell with worry, “oh dear, I’m sorry. What happened Takanori?”

“It was just complications of making a long distant relationship work,” he tried to shrug it off. Although when he looked up from his plate, he realized how it had sounded. Cursing at himself, he explained to the woman, “I didn’t want to quit my job or move back to LA. I’ve made some great friends here and I love the environment of my job. It- Well, it was a bit of a bad breakup, Ayako.”

“I understand why you feel that way,” Ayako felt eased by the reasoning. “So, that’s it then? The both you will never speak to each other again?”

Hearing those words had made the pain in his chest resonate even more, Ruki dropped his head, “I- I guess so.”

Right then, Ayako’s cell rang. Apologizing to the man across from him, she answered with a quick glance at the caller ID, “Akira, honey.”

Ruki’s body froze at the familiar name. Swallowing the lump, he looked to the woman with intensity.

Beautiful brown eyes widened and she looked at Ruki, “You flew back to LA this morning? Why didn’t you call me?”

Reita had left Seattle; without a word to his own mother. Ruki was hit even harder with guilt. He had truly hurt Reita. Blinking back the tears, he continued to listen to the one sided conversation

“Oh, you’re going to Aspen with Kouyou; how nice,” she spoke conversationally with her son, trying not to hint anything to him. Humming with a nod of her head, Ayako chuckled, “Of course I’ll keep your father out of your affairs. How long will you two be in Aspen?” Pausing as the blonde spoke on the other side, she confirmed out loud, “You’ll be back Monday. Okay, of course honey, I’ll keep an eye on your father. of course, take care and have fun.”

“He went back to LA?” he questioned as soon as she had ended the call.

“Yes, he had made flight arrangements about four this morning.” Ayako quickly reached over to give Ruki’s hand a comforting squeeze, “don’t fret over it Takanori. I’m sure that things will be just fine. The **_both_** of you will be just fine.”

“Excuse me,” his voice trembled, getting up and rushing for the bathroom.

Rushing to one of the stalls, he fell against the wall and began to cry all over again. He honestly hadn’t wanted them to part on such horrible terms like before, but, it was too late to fix it now.

Four months down the road, it was absolutely perfect weather for spring cleaning. Flopping back on his couch with sigh, he stared about his brand new apartment. A short time after the break up, Ruki couldn’t stand to be in his old apartment, it reminding him too much of Reita. It had truly been a long time since he had made himself think of the man he loved.

A lot has changed since then. No longer did he work at the publishing company, having lost the love of what that job used to mean to him. Ruki had lost his love for a lot of things since the beginning of the year, but surprisingly, he was okay with that. Now, he had settled for something that was less stressful on him; a barista in a small corner café restaurant that paid him well enough.

Sitting up to gaze out his sliding glass door, the brunette sighed. In these short months, he had debated with himself over what to do. Sure he had lost his love for certain things, but, he hadn’t lost his love for a certain man.

A part of him wasn’t ready; was absolutely terrified to get in contact with Reita. He had never deleted the blonde’s number, even if he had, Ruki would have the digits memorized it by heart. Biting his lip, he reached over for his cell and scrolled through numbers until he stopped on those familiar numbers.

Going in to create a new message he stopped. What was he going to say? How was he going to apologize?

Suddenly, Reita’s words rang in his head; ‘ _I didn’t even know where to begin to apologize to you_.’ Ruki understood what the man had meant now. It had seemed so easy to him in the beginning but now that he was on the other side, he realized how apologizing about causing so much hurt was so hard.

Lowering his phone onto his lap, he stared back out the glass door. He wanted Reita back in his life, but, he wanted it to work this time around. Ruki didn’t want any dilemma that could possibly stop them from being together. He needed time though.

With that thought in his mind, Ruki lifted the cell back up, texting out a message for the blonde. Biting on his lip, he slowly re-read the words out loud, making sure that it conveyed what he felt, “I’ve thought it over and I’m willing to try. I still love you Reita. I just need a little more time.”

Thumb over the send icon, he battled with himself for a short moment before pressing on the screen, watching as the word sending flashed for a short second before reading delivered. Heaving a sigh of relief in sending that simple text, he let his phone drop onto the seat beside him and stood to go out onto his balcony for a bit of air. Although he was barely able to take a step before he his phone chimed a message delivering and the screen lit up.

Hesitantly taking the device, his heart jumped into his throat; it was a reply from Reita. His heart began to pound.

Tapping on the screen, he opened up the message. Eyes flittering over the text, he smiled genuinely, ‘ _I still love you too, Ruki. I’m so happy to finally hear from you. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywher_ e.’

It was a message that didn’t need much of a reply because Ruki had made sure to convey it all in his first message to the blonde. At least now though, it can be a start to doing things differently. It was a start to making things work.


	12. Affair XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting a new job in the states was an exciting dream comes true but it becomes even ore thrilling when Ruki is led into sweet temptation.

It was another gorgeous day in the beautiful city of Seattle. Another four months had passed and life seemed a bit brighter than it had in quite some time. Things had drastically changed, but, it hadn’t been for the worse. If anything, he had grown, in more ways than one. It merely took the heartbreak and the guilt to change him, something he wishes he could have done without.

Taking the hot coffee from its spot, he made his way around the counter and went to serve the customers with a smile. Refilling their coffee cups, assortment of beverages and taking their orders to give to the cooks. Laughing and joking with coworkers as they planned a night out to a club.

As he delivered and order ticket to the window, he turned only to bump into a coworker whom he disliked quite a bit. Huffing, he made a moved to step around only for the man to take a step and blocked him from leaving. The brunette cocked his hip with a scowl; he hated playing this little game with the man.

Taking a deep breath, he took one of the freshly made coffees, “are we seriously gonna have to do this today, Tora. I keep giving you the same damned answer and I can’t understand why you can’t take the hint. I’m already seeing someone and-”

“So, why does this **_someone_** never come to see you or ever call? Why haven’t the rest of us ever got to meet them?”

“Because,” he started with a hiss making another move to step around and once again getting stopped by the man. Taking one deep breath, he growled, “he’s very busy with his job and he lives in LA. And if you don’t get the hell out of my way, I’m going to get you fired for harassment.”

“Oh c’mon Ruki,” Tora gave a roll of his eyes as he leaned against the counter, “just one date.”

“Not interested, for the last time,” Ruki snapped, tightening his hold on the coffee pot. The urge to toss the scalding pot of coffee on the man was absolutely tempting but he resisted and instead jabbed his elbow into the others side as he shoved past. He smiled to a customer sitting at the far end of the counter, “hello there, what can I start you off with?”

“Hello my darling Takanori,” the woman chirped cheerily, nestling her chin in her hand. “How have you been?”

Voice caught in his throat, Ruki nearly dropped the pot as he stuttered to get his words out, “M-Mrs. Suzuki! Uh- Hi; how have-have you been? Would you like some c-coffee?””

“Oh Taka, I’ve told you to call me Ayako,” she chuckled. “And yes, coffee would be wonderful.”

Smiling nervously, the brunette concentrated hard on not spilling the hot liquid, he began to make conversation with the woman, “so, how have you been Ayako?”

“I have been wonderful, thank you for asking,” she answered, pouring the provided cream and sugar into the hot drink, “although, I’ve been drastically busy with cases these past few months. So, it’s wonderful to finally get a bit of free time. How have you been? When I found out that you were no longer working for the publishing company, I got a little worried.”

Touched by Ayako’s concern, he assured her with a smile, “oh, there’s nothing to be worried about. To put it simply, it was a decision that had been easy to make.”

“How so Taka?” she questioned in interest.

Shrugging as he set the pot back on the warmer, he leaned back against the counter, “I had lost the love for it to put it simply. It was a decision that was verily easy to make because of it.”

Humming as she took a sip of her coffee, she leaned forward, “I understand that feeling well.”

“But, I’ve been great though,” Ruki grinned as he turned to the case of bakery goods. Taking a plate and putting a piece on top, he set in front of the woman, “here is the best apple crisp in Seattle, on the house. So, other than having a little time off, what else brings you to Seattle?”

“You do dear,” she winked, taking a bite of the cobbler. Making a sound of satisfaction as she took another bite, she smiled that charming smile of hers, “you see I’ve come to invite you to a little family gathering. Akira is having a little celebration for his father and I’s anniversary and I would **_absolutely_** love to have you there.”

Eyes widening in surprise, he quickly shook his head with an apologetic smile, “no, I couldn’t. This is a family affair Ayako; I couldn’t possibly.”

“Oh Taka, you **_are_** family.” Taking her cup and carefully drinking the hot liquid, she reached into her purse and slipped an invitation towards the waiter, “you remember what I told you; **_you_** are the stability he needs. While Akira acts like he’s fine with the way things had turned out between you both and acts as if he had sorted through his dejection, I hadn’t missed how distant he’s become.”

Biting on his lip, his head dropped with guilt, “I’m-”

“Don’t be sorry dear; there’s nothing to be sorry for,” she quickly cut him off with a smile. “I just think that, if you both could **_at least_** speak with one another, it’ll become easier for the both of you. Just work on reconciling a bit.”

Taking a deep steady breath, Ruki reached over and took the elegant invitation. It was Reita’s parent’s fortieth anniversary as a married couple. Becoming nervous at seeing the blonde, his father suddenly came to mind and became anxious as he thought of the elder Suzuki.

Shaking his head, he slipped the invitation back towards the woman, “I can’t Ayako. Your husband wouldn’t appreciate me being there after he had made it utterly clear how much he hates me.”

“You let me worry about that ass,” she snickered as she took her wallet from her purse. Taking a few bills from within the fold, she finished the last of her coffee and the last bites of her cobbler. As she stood from her seat, she slipped the bills towards the man, “I would love for you to be there. Despite us knowing each other for a short time, I see you as the one **_true_** person my Akira could spend the rest of his life with. Because of that, I want you to be a part of **_this_** family.”

Blushing bright at the words, he smiled embarrassingly. The woman knew how to sweet talk a person into things and he wondered if that was where the blonde entrepreneur had learned to speak with his silver tongue. A look back at the card left on the counter, he relented, “alright, I’ll be there.”

Clapping excitedly, she reached over the counter to cup the brunette’s face and press a quick kiss to his cheek, “That’s so wonderful! I’ll have our personal jet here Friday night; I’ll have a room ready for you at the absolute best hotel. And I shall see you Saturday!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you Saturday,” he murmured timidly as he watched the woman walk out the door.

Taking a deep breath, he leaned over to grab the cup and plate, pausing as he noticed the hefty tip Ayako had left for him. Setting the dishes down a little too quickly, he snatched it up and counted the bills out. Blinking in shock, he looked up just in time to see the woman wave at him through the window before getting into her limousine and being driven off. He stared back at the money in hand.

“Holy shit!” Tora peeked over the brunette’s shoulder, “she left **_that_** for a cup of coffee and a plate of cobbler?”

Scowling at having the man so close to him, Ruki whirled around and flicked him right in the nose with a hiss, “personal fucking space, Tora. What the hell have I told you about personal space?”

“I’m not allowed in it?” he answered questioningly, rubbing his abused nose.

“Jesus!” he snapped, taking his tip and stuffing into his apron. Waving to the cook, “I’m going for a smoke break.”

“Tora at it again,” he laughed.

Going towards the back alley, Ruki stopped at a door, knocking politely. Getting a faint call for him to enter, he open the door and shut it behind him, cocking a brow at his boss, “Seriously Kai; on the job?”

“Hey, I work more hours than you,” the other laughed. Straightening up and wiping the small drool that had escaped from the corner of his mouth, he chuckled, “What do you need, Ruki?”

“I was invited to Reita’s parent’s anniversary this Saturday,” he took a seat in front of his friend, taking the card from his pocket and slid it towards Kai to read. “I’ll be getting into LA Friday night and so, I won’t be able to close up.”

“ ** _He_** invited you to their anniversary?”

“No, not exactly,” he lowered his gaze to his lap, “Ayako came in and invited me.”

“His mom invited you!”

Reaching back into his pocket with a nod, he pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Lighting one up as Kai slid an ashtray towards him, he groaned, “I don’t know if I really should though. I mean, I’m not even sure how she knew I had quit my job or that I was even working here.”

Kai laughed uncharacteristically as he began to fidget with things on his desk, “she’s a lawyer, I’m sure she called in a favor or two.”

Narrowing his eyes as he watched his friend take a pen and twirl it, Ruki drawled, “Kai.”

Trying to keep his gaze averted, Kai took a chance and glanced at the other, relenting upon the glare being thrown at him; he muttered, “Don’t be mad, okay.”

“That’ll depend on what you’re about to tell me.”

Tapping the pen against the surface of his desk, he chuckled nervously as those brow eyes narrowed even more, “me and Reita keep in touch. I may have mentioned your new line of work and well, he may have mentioned it to his mom.”

“And **_why_** , are you two keeping in touch?” he questioned him slowly.

“Ruki, you’re my friend, sometimes I worry about you. And well,” Kai paused with a sigh. Gazing at his friend seriously as he began to tell him everything, “Reita worries about you as well. He calls about three times a month to see how you’re doing, since you’re too stubborn to call him. Even though, you made it seem like everything was going to be okay between you two.”

“Things are okay between us,” Ruki exhaled a wisp of smoke. Knocking the ash off the end, he looked out the office window, “I just know he’s a busy man.”

“Well, him being a busy man doesn’t stop him from checking up on **_you_** ,” Kai retorted as he took out his own pack of cigarettes. Shaking his head as he lit up the end, he exhaled slowly, “you’re strong and proud, I get it; you’re independent. But for once in your life Ruki, try not to be ignorant to his feelings; to the hope you gave him. You let four months go by and nothing. How do you think that makes him feel?”

Head dropping at being scolded so harshly by his friend, he stared at the burning ember of his cigarette as he murmured, “I get it. I’m an asshole.”

“I get that your scared, Ruki,” he smiled gently at the other. Taking a slow drag of his cigarette, Kai stared at the top of his desk, “I understand. You want to take things at a much slower pace, you want to be ready for what’s to come; but, you’re preaching to the wrong choir.”

“So, you think I should talk to him.”

“Yes, I think the both of you **_need_** to talk about this.”

Ruki slumped further in his seat. Kai was right. He was so scared of things becoming so serious that if either one were to hurt the other, there’d be no healing from it. In the beginning it was just physical attraction but somewhere along the way, it had developed into something and Ruki hadn’t been ready for the possibility of heartache. Their relationship had been on hyper drive that neither one of them were ready for the sudden feelings of love to happen so suddenly.

Stubbing out his cigarette, he spoke out loud in thought, “I should tell him I was invited.”

“I think you should surprise him,” Kai grinned.

“What; no!”

“Oh c’mon, don’t be such a pussy,” his friend snickered as he turned to his computer.

“You’re an ass.”

A few clicks of his mouse, he brought up his staff’s schedule, “alright, I’ll change your hours on Friday and give you the next few days off. That sounds good to you?”

“Yeah,” Ruki stood, fixing his apron, “I’ll be back Sunday night.”

“If you say so,” he chuckled, turning back to Ruki, Kai shook his head, “You’re like a child, you know that? I always have to get after you.”

“Shut up,” he snapped.

Working the rest of his hours to the best of his efforts, without becoming too caught up in his thoughts, Ruki sat at the end of the counter. The last few patrons finishing up their meals while he sipped at a cup of coffee; Tora sitting beside him, he tried not to snap at the man. While the other could be persistent and annoying, the brunette knew the other was a good guy.

“Why don’t you want to date, Ruki?” he asked.

Gazing into the cup, watching the ripples as he set the cup down, Ruki shrugged, “I had a bad relationship before I came to America. Things had settled down and then, well, I started messing with a boss mine for several months. Things got serious.”

“When you worked for the publishing company in L.A.?” Tora inquired quietly.

Nodding as he took another drink, he sighed, “At first, I figured it was a fling. No feelings would be involved.”

“And you fell for him?”

Licking his lips and giving a slow nod of his head, Ruki looked straight ahead, “I did. I fell **_so_** hard.”

Friday had come and it was a very hectic day. The last hour of his shift went by in a blur and with a frown he glanced at his wristwatch, finding that it was a quarter past his quitting time. Quickly finishing cashing out his last table, he turned to Tora as he removed his apron, “hey, I seriously gotta go. If I don’t leave right now, I’ll be late for my flight.”

Lifting the tray of drinks up high, he smiled at the brunette, “yeah, go. I’ll let Kai know.”

“Thanks,” he waved over his shoulder, he went to the kitchen window, “See you later Josh! Sorry I can’t be at the barbeque tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the cook waved, “now get out of here.”

Rushing into the back into Kai’s office, he grabbed up his suitcase and went to the bathroom to change out of his uniform. Quickly folding the articles of clothing, he stuffed them into his suitcase. Rushing out of the cubicle, he fixed up his hair while looking himself over and deemed his attire was fit. Walking out of the restroom, he made his way towards the front of the café and beside their hostess, a man in a well fitted black suited waited.

The man turned and smiled as he spotted the brunette, “Mr. Matsumoto, it’s good to see you again. How have you been?”

“Adrian,” Ruki eyes widened at the familiar man. Going up and shaking the man’s hand with a smile, “I had thought you worked for a different company.”

“No,” he continued to smile as he gently took Ruki’s suitcase from him. Going and holding the door open for the man, “I am Mrs. Suzuki’s personal driver. The young Mr. Suzuki had merely borrowed me for the short time.”

Brows furrowing slightly at the bit of information, it became clear that Ayako had been more aware of him than he had thought. Going out to the awaiting car, he climbed into the back while Adrian placed his suitcase in the trunk; he took out his cell to stare at the screen. He had wanted to call Reita and tell him, but, Kai had insisted that he make his appearance a surprise.

Sitting further back against the seat with a heavy sigh, he gazed out the car window in uneasiness for what tomorrow could bring. Ruki couldn’t say he was nervous, because he was nervous as hell. Four months and he hadn’t called Reita, hadn’t even so much as texted him. Four months he spent wallowing in his own self pity. He wasn’t entirely sure about what he was going to say.

Arriving at the airport in a slight blur made his stomach churn even more. Thanking Adrian as the door was opened and the man took his suitcase to the plane, Ruki tried not to gape at the private jet as he boarded. It was absolutely elegant and he momentarily wondered how many other private jets the Suzuki family had.

“Would you like anything before take off?” Ruki jumped at the voice of the flight attendant. Whirling around, he blinked at her before processing the question.

“A jack and coke?” he answered meekly.

Giving the brunette a smile, she motioned to the seats, “take a seat anywhere, I’ll get that for you right away.”

Swallowing back more of his nervousness, he chose a random seat and sat, smiling at Adrian as he took a seat behind him. Buckling himself in, he quickly downed the drink when it was brought back to him, Ruki sat back as comfortably as he could. Gripping the armrests tightly as the jet began its takeoff; he was now on his way back to LA.

After getting airborne, Ruki had to order a few more drinks to ease his rattled nerves. Hours away from coming face to face with the CEO but it felt like it was coming so much sooner. Head lolling off to the side, he stared out the window for a short moment and his eyes slipped shut with sleep.

“Mr. Matsumoto, we’ve arrived,” Adrian gently shook the shoulder of brunette. “Wait here and I’ll get the car ready.”

Stretching as he stood from his seat, Ruki sluggishly got off the plane, inhaling the cool air. Gazing at the city lights of Los Angeles, he bit his lip hard in thought, muttering to himself, “What am I doing here?”

One more breath, he got into the Escalade, the Adrian shutting the door and got into the driver side, they were off to the hotel. The drive a blur of lights and city streets, so, when they pulled up outside the Beverly Wilshire hotel, Ruki had to keep himself from gawking. Ayako hadn’t been kidding when she said that she was going to get him a room at one of the best hotels.

After he had checked in, finding that everything had been paid for, Adrian carried his suitcase up to his room, even though Ruki had told the man there was no need. But, the driver had assured him that it was no problem and that he wanted to make sure that everything was to his liking; per Ayako’s request. So, he let the man into his room and he had set the suitcase by the door.

“I will be coming by tomorrow about eleven to take you and Mrs. Suzuki to lunch,” he gave a small bow of his head after checking the entire room. “Have a good night, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“You too Adrian,” he smiled back at the man, “Thank you.”

Shutting and locking his room door, he took in the sight of the large suite. It was far more extravagant than he was used to, but, when you’re dealing with a family like the Suzuki’s, it’s too be expected. So, taking his suitcase into the adjoining bedroom, he couldn’t contain his excited and flopped on the king-sized bed. Snuggling the plush downy pillows and blankets, Ruki fell asleep in his clothes.

It felt like he had slept only a handful of minutes when he was awoken by the sound of persistent knocking on the door. Groaning with irritation, Ruki rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, it not working as whoever continued to knock furiously on the door.

Sitting tiredly, Ruki ran a hand through his hair with a groggy groan, “I’m going to kill whoever the hell that is.”

“Taka dear,” Ayako’s cheery voice carried through the suite melodiously, “are you awake honey?”

Whining softly at the sound of the woman’s voice, he glanced over at the digital clock, it reading nine twenty three in the morning. It was far too early for him. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he got out of bed, smoothing out his clothes and went to let the woman in. As he unlocked and opened the door, he felt like he became blinded by the woman’s bubbly attitude.

“Good morning, Ayako,” he did his best from yawning as he motioned her in.

“Oh dear, were you still asleep?”

“I easily get jet lagged,” he smiled tiredly as he went to prepare the small pot of coffee.

While the brunette did that, the woman took a seat at the counter with a smile, “You have absolutely no idea how happy I am that you’ve come Takanori dear.”

“I’m glad you invited me,” he leaned against the counter, ruffling his bed head more.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” she nodded, looking down at the counter in thought. Smiling as she looked back up, “let me tell you something, don’t you worry about my husband. If anything, just ignore the old man. Like I told you before, he means well, but, he merely thinks emotions a weakness.”

“I won’t make promises that I won’t punch him,” he shrugged.

“And I won’t hold it against you, dear,” Ayako laughed.

Talking the rest of the morning about anything and everything, Ruki finally went to take a shower and dress for the day. Putting on clothes that would fit the occasion for the woman and her husband’s anniversary, they went to the shopping district of L.A. Looking around and buying things here and there; helping Ayako find an anniversary gift for her husband.

Squirming in the back of the car as they approached a very large manor further outside of L.A. Ruki bit his lip. It was nearly time for him to come face to face with Reita and he was so nervous, he felt like he could throw up. Flinching as the woman’s hand squeezed his forearm with comfort.

“It’ll be okay, dear,” she smiled warmly. “He’ll be so happy to see you, I’m sure of it.”

The car coming to a stop in front of the large home, mouth and throat going dry; Ruki looked to his hands. Clutching a small box in his hand before putting it inside his breast pocket; climbing out of the car behind Ayako. Trailing behind the elder woman resisting the urge to turn tail and run as they entered the large home.

“Could you stay in the foyer for a moment,” she said softly.

“Uh… yeah, sure,” he nodded unsure of what she planned.

Staying rooted to the spot for a minute, he heard the shutting of a door inside and then, voices, then it died down. Feeling an uneasiness creep inside of him at the abrupt sounds, Ayako came back smiling. Taking Ruki by the arm and leading him in room, where several people sat; all looking to him in surprise.

“Everyone, this is Takanori,” she introduced the young brunette.  “He’s a dear friend of Ak-”

“What is he doing here?” Reita’s father hissed.

“I invited him,” Ayako answered, her eyes narrowing. The look she shot her husband quieted him, “and you don’t get a say in who I want to invite, **_honey_**. We are very good friends and well; I want him here for this.”

The man went quite, although it didn’t stop the elder from glaring at him. A honey blonde stood, walking up to the brunette, “Hi, I’m Kouyou Takashima, but, you can call me Uruha. I’m a friend of Reita’s.”

“Hi,” he smiled meekly, a slight blush forming.

Other’s standing and introducing themselves politely as friends of the Suzuki’s. Shaking hands and exchanging small words with them, Uruha coming to him with a glass of wine. He murmured softly, “thank you.”

“His words didn’t do you justice,” he commented, ushering the other to seat. Both of them sitting, the blonde sipped at his drink thoughtfully, “all he’s done is talk about you.”

“Reita talks about me?”

“All the time,” he laughed, “Can’t get the guy to shut up. Like seriously, I was tired of it, but now, that I’ve finally got to meet you, I can see why. Seriously, he did **_not_** do you justice.”

Taking a moment to think about it, Ruki looked around the room. The entrepreneur was nowhere in sight. Reita had gathered family friends for his parent’s anniversary and he wasn’t here celebrating with the guests.

“He’s here, just,” Uruha paused, glancing towards the stairs that went up, “he’s in the library again. I tried getting him to come down, but, he wasn’t budging. Even his mom tried.”

Licking his lips, Ruki stood, “maybe I should try.”

The man smiled, shrugging, “go up the stairs, to the left; it’ll be the double doors on the left. Just follow the music.”

Setting the glass of wine off the side, Ruki left the room and went up the stairs, he could hear the melody of a piano playing. The melody was extremely beautiful but sad. Stopping at the top of the stairs, listening intently, becoming immensely enthralled. His breathing having deepened as he forced himself down the hall, the sound of piano becoming grander as it continued to play; the closer he got to the library.

Coming to a set of double mahogany doors, only certain pitches of the music muffled, but, louder to his ears as he continued to listen. The melody coming to a soft end and then, it began replaying.

Taking a large breath, Ruki pushed the door open. The library was painted in the sunset and there beneath the large windows sat the blonde at a grand piano. Long fingers moving elegantly and smoothly along the keys; brown eyes closed as the body played the notes by heart. The sight was even more breathtaking, as he watched Reita play the melody.

Gazing over the somber expression of his love; the brunette shut the door softly, so as not to disturb the musician. He silently crept his way towards the pianist, sitting in a chair a little more than two feet away. Eyes sliding shut as the man continued playing, almost as if he didn’t have care in the world. Ruki let himself be carried away with the sadness in every note, trying to feel what the blonde felt as he played fluently. He never missed a note.

The song coming to an end a second time, the blonde began it over. It becoming too much for Ruki, knowing that the blonde played this song over and over. He clapped his hands, the man jumping at the sound.

Turning around on the bench, Reita blinked, “Ruki? What are-What are you doing here?”

“I was listening to you play,” he stood, going to sit beside the blonde. Head tilting, as he leaned against the body, “you never told me you could play piano.”

“You never asked,” was the soft reply.

“It was beautiful,” Ruki murmured, “but, it’s very sad. Did you write it?”

“No,” the blonde shook his head, “someone else did. I just happen to come across it and well, I like playing it.”

Lifting his head, brow furrowing, “but, it’s so sad; why do you like playing it?”

“Just because of that,” Reita smiled. Eyes going to the ivory keys, “I find it soothing; in a way.”

“Playing?”

“More so the melody of the notes;” Shifting on the bench, gazing down at the top of dark hair, he asked again, “so, you gonna tell me what are you doing here?”

“You’re mother invited me,” Ruki sat up, reaching out and pushing on the F key. “I wasn’t going to come at first, but, I figured four months is long enough.”

“I told you ‘take all the time you need’,” Reita said softly, combing hair behind an ear, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know you did,” he laughed breathily, pushing the C key. “I just- I thought a lot about it and I know you would have never asked me to give anything up and it wasn’t fair of me to ask that of you. Because of it I just… I wasn’t happy anymore.”

“Why aren’t you happy, Ruki?”

Lifting his eyes up from the keys of the piano, Ruki gazed into Reita’s eyes. Biting his lip with a smile, “I didn’t have you.”

Pulling the other in for a hug, he snorted, “I thought cheesy lines were my thing.”

“Nope,” the brunette laughed. Letting a content sigh go, “I want to try; again.”

“Are you sure?” the elder questioned, breathing in Ruki’s scent. Rocking them slightly, voice soft, “because honestly, I don’t think I can do this a third time around.”

“I don’t think I could either.”

Pulling back from the hug, Reita leaned forward, kissing Ruki softly. No urgency or anything, just a kiss full of love, a kiss speaking volumes without words and just emotions. Embracing one another tenderly as they broke the contact, foreheads pressed together.

Caressing his thumb over a smooth cheek, voice above a whisper, Reita pulled Ruki to his body tighter, “promise me, you’re not going to ever run scared again.”

Eyelashes fluttering, Ruki nodded, “I promise.”

Lips mashing together, the young man moaned when tongue of the blonde’s pushed into his mouth; allowing him to taste the man. Being laid on his back as Reita hovered over him, Ruki gasped as hot lips trailed down his throat, kissing him tenderly. A knock on the door forced them apart immediately as it opened.

“Akira dear, have- oh,” Ayako smiled, “I see the two of you found each other.”

Clearing his throat, Reita nodded, “yes. Was there something you need, mother?”

“I was looking for Takanori, but, I see he’s in good Hands. So,are you still being mister grumpy,” she grinned, seeing her son blush. She shook her head, “anyways, dinner is ready; that’s if you want to join us, Akira.”

Glancing to Ruki, he gave another nod, “yeah, we’ll be there in a moment.”

“Okay, don’t take too long,” she giggled girlishly, the door shutting.

“Your mom is something else,” the brunette laughed.

“Don’t I know it,” the blonde grimaced, rubbing his neck. Licking his lips he asked, “How long are you staying?”

“Until Sunday night, unless… something comes up,” Ruki gave a small smirk.

Cocking brow, Reita snorted, “Sounds like you’re up to something, Mr. Matsumoto.”

“Of course not,” the man feigned shock as he stood. “You, Mr. Suzuki, are sadly mistaken.”

“Am I now,” he laughed, also standing. “If that’s the case, why don’t you and I have lunch tomorrow and possibly dinner?”

Laughing into his hand, Ruki kissed Reita’s chin, “let me call Kai and let him know I’ll be back next weekend. That gives a whole week to start over.”

“I’d like nothing more than that,” was the soft reply, kissing the other more passionately. Holding the diamond shaped face, he whispered, “we’ll make this work, baby. I’m not losing you again.”

“I’m not losing you again either,” Ruki answered back, kissing him once more. Pulling away suddenly as a thought occurred to him, grinning, “and just to let you know, your mom has given me permission to deck your dad when and if he ever steps out of line.”

“No she didn’t,” Reita rolled his eyes.

“No, she really did.”

Sitting in the back of the house in the garden, Ruki laughed. Reita lying back on the grass, having just finished dinner, which wasn’t as awkward as they thought it would be. Considering Reita’s father kept trying to talk down to Ruki; Reita trying to get him to stop as well as Ayako. The elder Suzuki wasn’t back down from his little tirade though.

After the last insult, the brunette had, had enough of it. He stood, went around the table to the elder Suzuki’s side and punched the man in the jaw. Turning on his heels, went back to his spot beside his lover, took his seat and resumed eating. Reita had gaped and was entirely speechless the entire time; Ayako had chuckled behind her hand and then led her husband into another room.

Lying beside the business man, he snickered, “told you your mom gave me permission.”

“I just can’t believe you **_actually_** did it,” was the answer.

“I punched you,” Ruki sat up looking down at the other, “what made think I wouldn’t punch him?”

“Point made,” Reita laughed, tugging the body; sighing, “I’m glad to have you back.”

“Yeah,” was the coy reply, brown eyes gazing into another set of brown eyes, “I’m glad to have you back; even under the circumstances.”

“You punched my father, I get it and you’re a badass.”

“I punched you too; why do you keep forgetting that.”

Pressing lips to Ruki’s gently, murmuring against the softness, “It’s why I love you so much.”

“Because I knocked some sense into you?” the brunette snorted, “yeah, I agree with you. I’d love me too after that.”

Reita narrowed his eyes playfully, “Smart ass.”

Giggling, Ruki snuggled into the warm side of the blonde. This was what he missed the most. The simple act of spending time with the other, joking and bantering about every small thing; it’s why he had found life so dull. Why he had lost the love of things.

He was stupid to let it go in the first place. He was stupid for not changing it sooner. He was especially stupid for not acting on impulse and just giving into temptation. He wanted to fix it so bad.

“Quit thinking so much,” Reita’s baritone sounded.

“I’m not,” he answered softly.

“You are,” was the stern reply, followed by a soft kiss to the temple. “We’re here now, no reason to think on it.”

 “I love you, Akira.”

“I love you too, Taka.”


End file.
